Former Cowboy Preston Pearson still in the game

RB played 14 years in NFL before getting into sports marketing

12:14 AM CDT on Monday, September 25, 2006

By DAMON L. SAYLES / The Dallas Morning News

The Cowboys were idle Sunday, which meant former Preston Pearson had to find an alternative way to kill a few hours.

The former Cowboys running back enjoys spending time with his family, particularly his two grandchildren. He also enjoys watching other NFL teams play on Sundays. But when the Cowboys are a part of television's featured entertainment, he admits to becoming a "Cowboys homer."

"Mean Joe Greene lives in the area, and he's still a Pittsburgh fan. Why shouldn't I be a Cowboy fan?" said Pearson, the president of Pro-Style Associates, a sports marketing, promotion and management firm in North Dallas.

Pearson credits players such as Rayfield Wright, Bob Hayes, Harvey Martin and Ed "Too Tall" Jones for setting the Cowboys' winning standard and making the team a sports icon. Not once, however, does he mention himself in that same category, even though his 14-year career - six seasons in Dallas - was far from unsuccessful.

Pearson, 61, was the NFL's first player to participate in five Super Bowls, doing so with three different teams. He played with the Baltimore Colts (1967-69) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (1970-74) before playing with the Cowboys from 1975-80. He won Super Bowl rings in 1974 and 1977 and retired in 1981.

Pearson has been working with Pro-Style Associates for more than 25 years. The company specializes in booking sports celebrities for events such as conventions, luncheons, speaking engagements and autograph and endorsement sessions.

"I'm continuing to make a living in athletics. With that comes enjoyment," Pearson said.

Pearson made a living on the field as a reliable third-down back for the Cowboys. His career stats include 3,609 rushing yards, 3,095 receiving yards and 2,801 kickoff return yards. Never playing a down of college football made Pearson's career that much more impressive.

Pearson was a three-year letter-winner in basketball at Illinois. He had an interest in playing basketball professionally, but his athleticism and speed caught the attention of NFL recruiters. The Colts and coach Don Shula gambled in drafting Pearson in the 12th round in 1967.

Before becoming president of a Dallas sports marketing company, Preston Pearson played in five Super Bowls. He won rings with the Steelers in Super Bowl X and the Cowboys in Super Bowl XII.

"To come from those odds, a basketball player making a football team with all that talent, that was unbelievable," Pearson said. "Just being able to last 14 years is a tremendous honor for me."

Following retirement, Pearson balanced Pro-Style Associates with sports announcing and radio broadcasting. He also wrote a book titled Hearing the Noise: My Life in the NFL.

Pearson is active with the Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation and the Dallas YMCA. He also has worked voluntarily with the South Oak Cliff Boxing Club.

"When I do dealings with him, it's always for the community. It's never about money," said Lester Bedford, a boxing event marketing specialist who has known Pearson for roughly 15 years.

"I get so many calls from people trying to sell me something. With him, it's never that. It's always him offering his help, and he does it because he's a good guy."

As a fan or a volunteer coach, boxing is at top of his list

Preston Pearson, an avid boxing fan, smiled as he recalled meeting Muhammad Ali. It was at a memorabilia show in New York, and Ali's appearance stood out over all the other revered athletes present.

"When he came in, all the biggies - Marino, Aikman, Bill Parcells - turned their heads," Pearson said. "Everyone wanted to get a picture with 'the man,' including myself. It was heartwarming."

Pearson's love for boxing is just as strong as his love for football. When Evander Holyfield prepared for his Aug. 18 fight in Dallas, Pearson was at the first news conference.

Pearson also said he enjoys volunteering for the South Oak Cliff Boxing Club, where works with young boxers.

"I just appreciate the artistic style of boxing in its purest form," Pearson said. "It's fascinating to me that people can be six inches apart and one can make the other guy miss."

PRESTON PEARSON

Born: Jan. 17, 1945
Hometown: Freeport, Ill.
Residence: Dallas
Family: Two sons, Greg (36) and Matt (33)

Notable: Pearson designed and marketed the original Cowboys bandana that was introduced during the 1979 season. ... He enjoys playing golf and fishing.

Did you know? Pearson was the Colts' 12th-round pick in 1967. The Colts also had the No. 1 overall pick that year and selected Bubba Smith.

Quotable: "Anytime you can get noticed and you're in your 60s and beyond, especially with the background of athletes today, you've got to say you're pretty blessed."
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Online at:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/misc/where/stories/09...

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Bottom line, today's players in game for the money

By Gordon Forbes, USA TODAY
September 7, 2006

In his induction speech, John Madden swore the busts inside the Pro Football Hall of Fame chatted with each other in the middle of the night.

The old legends from a nickel-and-dime era must talk about money. They won't argue that they were better players. They already know that. They just happened to play in a time when the NFL was a second-string sport to the college game and sports television was just a crazy idea.

In retrospect, the staggering rise in player salaries has been the most significant change in the 87-year history of the pro game. The players are bigger and faster. And the 1977 rules changes made the NFL the land of milk and honey for quarterbacks and receivers. Yet, the busts of those legends will tell you the biggest change in the game involves salaries.

Credit former players executive director Ed Garvey and attorney Dick Berthelsen for the money tree. They finally won enough court fights to gain the right to obtain copies of each player contract.

"It was essential," Garvey said, "because not knowing what other players were getting, you had no bargaining leverage whatsoever. The word was out that Vince Lombardi had two sets of contracts." Garvey even recalled hearing that Forrest Gregg, an all-pro Packers tackle, had played for $19,000.

The players union distributed its first salary survey after the 1982 season. The numbers were shockers. St. Louis Cardinals quarterback Neil Lomax ($130,000) earned only $30,000 more than Joe Bostic, one of his guards. Many earned less than $40,000.

Everson Walls, a cornerback signed by Dallas in 1981 as a free agent, intercepted 18 passes in his first two years. His salaries were $32,000 and $37,000. After two Pro Bowls, the Cowboys offered him a modest raise that Walls rejected.

"Ronnie Lott and Lawrence Taylor used to kid me about my salary at the Pro Bowl," Walls said. "One night, Ron Springs and I had a couple of beers and came up with a plan. I didn't want to get fined, so I retired for five days."

The fuming Cowboys brought Walls back with a $125,000 signing bonus and a $120,000 base. When the nervy United States Football League launched a salary war, the Cowboys signed Walls to an annuity deal that guaranteed him $100,000 for 10 years.

Meanwhile, the NFL owners agreed to a historic free-agency/salary-cap system in which the players were guaranteed a percentage of gross revenue and were free to move after four years. Garvey had proposed the system for years.

"It was one of the greatest innovations for salaries in terms of labor peace," Garvey said. To keep their players, teams began offering signing bonuses right up there with CEO deals.

Today teams employ money crunchers known as capologists. And if they never touched a football, who cares — as long as they keep the team under the $102 million salary cap. Players last year earned 65.5% of DGR (defined gross revenue such as ticket sales; TV revenue, etc.). In 1973, teams paid players only 39.2% of gross income, an average of $2.452 million a team.

Agent Leigh Steinberg said there were two factors that held salaries down before the boom. "The revenue base was exponentially smaller," he said. "And there was no free agency."

Then the base exploded, with each new TV deal virtually doubling revenue. There were renegotiations and huge bonuses and tricky free-agent deals in which the capologists were magicians with the numbers. "Pro football became an established primacy, the No. 1 attraction in the United States," Steinberg said.

As the late George Young once said, "It was a great time to be a player." Yet, agent Peter Schaffer notes the owners prospered, too, with franchise values soaring past the billion-dollar mark. "Everyone associated with this fantastic sport recouped the benefits," he said.

So the game is draped in thick layers of money. It is the perfect sport for TV in terms of action, event spacing and time frame. Remarkably, there isn't a tiny clue that revenue will eventually level off.

The busts in Canton will tell you they played for the love of the game. Now they play for the love of the big money.

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Fox Sports Radio To Support “Gridiron Greats Relief Fund”

Starting today (9/8), Fox Sports Radio’s Craig Shemon and James Washington will dedicate “Jersey Fridays” to benefit the “Gridiron Greats Relief Fund.” Created by former NFL great Jerry Kramer, the fund provides direct financial assistance to retired players who are disadvantaged or indigent due to inadequate pension and disability compensation.

Each week, Shemon and Washington will feature a signed jersey donated by an NFL great or current NFL player to be auctioned on www.JerryKramer.com. The winner will be announced on “Jersey Friday,” and will have a chance to interact with the owner of the jersey on Out of Bounds on Fox with Shemon & Washington.

“This partnership provides two great opportunities,” said Andrew Ashwood, Fox Sports Radio VP/GM-executive producer. “We can help those former NFL players who helped build the league we know today, and give our listeners access to something special they'll remember forever.”

Kramer commented, “With the support of Fox Sports Radio and the NFL legends who are participating in this project, we will be able to provide some necessary assistance to many retired players who are in need. This is a very important and unique opportunity for all of us to come together and raise some funds to help our friends in need.”

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