IN BRIEF : Cowboys Skip Danny White Option

The Dallas Cowboys have elected not to pick up the option year of quarterback Danny White’s contract, making him an unrestricted free agent.

“It disappoints me,” White said Thursday, “but I learned a long time ago that this is a business. And it can be a cold business.” The contract was to pay him $605,000.

White, 37, is coming off a knee injury that wiped out the final nine games of the 1988 season. A broken wrist kept him from playing for most of the 1986 season and part of the 1987 season. He hasn’t been a full-time starter since 1985.

White said he will meet next week with Head Coach Jimmy Johnson to discuss his future. But Johnson is making no commitments. If the Cowboys do decide to offer White a new contract, they will undoubtedly ask him to take a pay cut. They have just signed No. 1 draft pick and former UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman to an $11-million contract and are trying to re-sign veteran Steve Pelluer, who made $302,500 last season.