LKelley67

from the
YA SURE THIS COULDN'T HAVE BEEN DONE Files-

looked at before but even more damning now...

AP reports the Vikings and the agent for LB Sam Cowart agreed to significantly reduce the length and value of the veteran linebacker’s contract before the team added him in a trade with the New York Jets last month, sources confirmed Wednesday. Cowart, acquired March 18 in exchange for one of the Vikings’ two seventh-round draft picks, had three years and $9 million in base salary (including $1.5 million in 2005) remaining on the five-year contract he signed with the Jets in 2003. But weeks before the trade was consummated, the Vikings initiated a dialogue with Cowart’s agent, Paul Healy, about downsizing the contract. The sides eventually agreed to a one-year deal with a $1 million base salary, according to documentation on the NFL players association’s Web site.