PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : Jones Says Contract With AT&T; Is Within Guidelines

AT&T; has become the latest corporate sponsor of Texas Stadium, setting up another potential fight between the NFL and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

Jones said it was not a slap at the NFL, who is sponsored by Sprint, but an attempt to show the benefits of aggressive individual marketing to other NFL teams.

“We have adhered to every NFL guideline,” Jones said.

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The Cowboys’ Leon Lett saved his best for last when it came to scuffling with the Raiders at the two teams’ final joint practice.

After skirmishes broke out Monday and Tuesday, some serious blows were exchanged Wednesday when Lett head-slapped Oakland Jeff Hostetler long after a play finished.

The teams had just separated when, one play later, Dallas’ Haywood Simmons and Oakland’s Rick Cunningham grabbed each other’s face masks and started swinging. Both teams jumped onto the field in a free-for-all. At one point, Simmons was on the ground being held by one Raider, while Cunningham punched and kicked him.

Dallas defensive tackle Mike Harrison and Oakland offensive tackle Pat Harlow also wrestled to the ground before coaches finally broke up the melee and ended morning drills 10 minutes early.

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Jim Kelly has decided to sit out the Buffalo Bills’ preseason opener against the Washington Redskins, as he waits for a resolution of his contract situation.

Since the beginning of training camp, Kelly has been looking for a new contract that would pay him nearly $6 million per season. He has a meeting with Buffalo owner Ralph Wilson on Friday. When asked if his decision to sit out was related to the contract, Kelly said: “Read between the lines.”

Buffalo Coach Marv Levy did not know of Kelly’s plans to sit out until he was told by reporters after the Bills’ workout on Thursday. Alex Van Pelt is expected to open the game if Kelly refuses.

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Cornerback Dale Carter agreed to a three-year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs just minutes before a dispute over terms was to go before a federal labor arbitrator. Previously, he signed a similar deal with the Minnesota Vikings but the Chiefs matched the offer. Carter then filed a grievance with the Players Assn., challenging some of its principal terms. . . . Lin Elliott, vilified in Kansas City after his three missed field goals cost the Chiefs a playoff victory in January, signed with the Vikings, who are concerned about Fuad Reveiz’s ailing left foot. Reveiz had surgery on his plant foot in February for the second time in two years.