NFL, Cowboys’ Jones Settle Lawsuits

The NFL and Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, settled their dueling lawsuits over licensing and marketing deals Friday.

The league filed a $300-million lawsuit against Jones in September 1995, claiming he had entered into licensing and sponsorship arrangements that violated the league’s revenue-sharing policies, including deals with Pepsi, Nike, Dr Pepper, American Express and AT&T.;

The NFL alleged the deals violated a trust agreement the club signed in 1982 authorizing the NFL to negotiate commercial uses of the team’s name, helmet, uniform and slogans.

Jones responded with a $700-million countersuit in federal court in New York, accusing the league of blocking teams from conducting their own marketing business.

All parties said they settled after acknowledging that it was time to move forward and get past costly litigation.

But the settlement also means Jones is free to continue his existing Texas Stadium sponsorships and enter into new ones with no obligation to share the revenue, said Dick Cass, stadium and team lawyer.

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Deion Sanders of the Cowboys was fined $5,000 by the NFL for wearing the number of suspended teammate Leon Lett on his uniform.

Sanders had Lett’s No. 78 on his wristband and collar in Sunday’s game against Arizona, violating the league’s rule against personal messages on uniforms and equipment.

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Washington Redskin receiver Michael Westbrook, who suffered a knee injury when he collided with tight end Jamie Asher in the first quarter of the Thanksgiving Day loss to the Cowboys, will return to the lineup Sunday against Arizona.