Draft History: 1989

On Thursday, the Dallas Cowboys made UCLA's Troy Aikman their quarterback of the future, and a very wealthy young man, by giving him the largest rookie contract in NFL history.

Shortly before 2 p.m., Aikman, 22, walked into the office of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and signed a six-year, $11.037 million deal that took only two weeks to negotiate.

Aikman was represented by California attorney Leigh Steinberg, who hammered out the contract with Jones' business partner, Mike McCoy. The deal surpassed, by nearly $3 million, the previous top rookie contract: quarterback Vinny Testaverde's six-year $8.2 million agreement with Tampa Bay in 1987.

"It's pretty much a dream come true for me," said Aikman. "It's beyond words. I wanted this so badly, to be a Dallas Cowboy."

Aikman was presented with a new No. 8 Cowboys jersey during Thursday's news conference at Valley Ranch. Aikman then was led to his new locker – the one formerly occupied by tight end Doug Cosbie, who signed with Denver last month.

Sunday morning, there will be more pomp and pizazz. Aikman will fly to New York to be presented by NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle when the Cowboys officially make Aikman the No. 1 overall selection in the 1989 draft.

That ceremony will be anti-climactic; the Cowboys certainly made their feelings known Thursday.

"Troy has the talent to take the Cowboys back to where we all want them to be," said Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson. "You'd be amazed at what some of the teams were willing to give up (in a trade) for Troy. But we've known that this was our guy."

Johnson said he never really considered trading Aikman or drafting another player. But he thought that listening to trade offers would be good experience for a rookie NFL coach. And Johnson wanted to keep quiet until Jones could get Aikman signed.

Johnson made up his mind the weekend of March 17-19, when he worked out Aikman in Los Angeles.

"We knew without question that Troy Aikman was our guy when we got back on the plane after the workout at UCLA," Johnson said.

Said Jones: "When Jimmy called me and said, "Man, you should see him," I just raised up and yelled into the phone, I was so excited. There was no decision to make here."

After the shouting, all that was left was working out the details of the contract. Surprisingly, Jones publicly volunteered a contract figure – $11.2 million – that he apparently overstated in all of the excitement. According to sources, the actual total compensation came to $11.037 million.

Aikman will receive a signing bonus of $2.75 million and yearly salaries that range from $787,000 in his rookie season (1989) to $2 million in the final year of the contract (1994).

Months before Aikman will throw his first official pass in the NFL, he already is the league's third highest-paid player, with an average yearly compensation of $1.839 million.

And he's also the highest-salaried Cowboy, surpassing running back Herschel Walker's $1 million for 1989.

Aikman seemed unaffected by the vast riches of the standard-setting contract. He will establish a yearly $5,000 scholarship at his two alma maters: Henryetta (Okla.) High School and UCLA. He also will donate $1,000 to charity for each game won by the Cowboys.

"I want to play the game because I have fun doing it," Aikman said. "I certainly don't want to look at it as a business, although it is."

Jones, who purchased the Cowboys and Texas Stadium Corp. for $140 million on Feb. 25, expressed no regrets after making an $11 million investment.

This was a Jones production all the way. Former Cowboys president Tex Schramm, who resigned Tuesday, and current vice president Joe Bailey weren't present for Thursday's news conference. Jones was making it clear that the Cowboys now were his team, and Aikman probably was his most-prized possession.

"I said it the first time I stood here," Jones said. "We're committed to winning, and we'll go and get it if it's humanly possible. We'll do whatever it takes to make our fans proud of the Cowboys.

"Troy is not the man that single-handedly is going to solve all the Cowboy problems. He's not going to single-handedly solve all the problems of the world. But I tell you this: you put you together a few Troy Aikmans back to back, and you'll knock a few dents in it."

It isn't clear how soon Aikman will be permitted to start denting some NFL defenses. One thing is certain: Aikman will benefit in his rookie development by signing early. He will be able to participate in a minicamp in May and Johnson's three-week passing-game school in June.

"We really don't have a timetable for Troy," Johnson said. "I know he wants to get into it. He's committed to being the best that he can be, and we'll go at his pace."

The Cowboys have three quarterbacks on the roster: starter Steve Pelluer, Danny White and Scott Secules.

"We have some quarterbacks with the club that have done some good things, so we'll have to wait and see what we do in training camp," Johnson said.

Aware of the problems John Elway had early in his rookie season with Denver, Aikman would not mind serving an apprenticeship.

"It's a matter of how quickly I pick up the system," Aikman said. "I won't know that until I get on the field and start playing. Generally speaking, I think the ideal situation is to take things slowly with a young quarterback."

But will Cowboys fans, starved after three consecutive losing seasons, be willing to wait? It won't take long for Aikmania to begin. Aikman is stepping into a rebuilding situation, and all Cowboys quarterbacks forever will be compared to Roger Staubach, a Hall of Famer.

"Those things are inevitable," Aikman said. "I hope people do compare me to Roger Staubach five years from now, and I'm mentioned in the same breath as him. It would certainly be ridiculous for me to try to live up to Roger Staubach and try to fill his shoes and make people forget about him. They never will. He's a legend in his own time. I just want to do the best I can."

Already, Aikman has surpassed Staubach by one measure.

In 1979, his final season with the Cowboys, Staubach was paid $213,000.