Dorsett, Cowboys Agree on New Five-Year Contract

Running back Tony Dorsett ended his holdout Wednesday when he agreed to a new five-year contract with the Dallas Cowboys, team President Tex Schramm said.

Dorsett, who has been absent from training camp since July 21, is expected to report today, spokesman Greg Aiello said.

“We were able to construct a five-year agreement that I think will accomplish what I said earlier--that will give him the opportunity to complete his career with pride and some financial stability,” Schramm told a press conference Wednesday night.

Dorsett hasn’t received a paycheck since the Internal Revenue Service began attaching his $21,000-a-month salary last October.

The IRS claimed Dorsett owed $412,000 in back taxes, and Dorsett has reached a settlement in which he has already paid $200,000 and will pay the rest later this year.

Dorsett turned to agent Howard Slusher July 18 to negotiate with Schramm, but earlier Wednesday, Slusher resigned because he reportedly objected to Wednesday’s meeting and told Witt Stewart, Dorsett’s adviser, he could no longer work with Dorsett.

Dorsett, a 31-year-old Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Pittsburgh, was on the fourth year of a seven-year contract.

He had been asking for a deal comparable to the one signed last year by Randy White, with a $6.4-million annuity package and a $1.5-million real estate plan.

Dorsett’s existing contract would have paid him $450,000 this year, $500,000 in 1986 and $550,000 in 1987.