Emmitt Signs Deion's Agent | By Associated Press

(March 13, 1996 © 1996 Associated Press. All rights reserved)
....DALLAS (AP) - Emmitt Smith is hoping agent Eugene Parker can do for him what he did for Deion Sanders: negotiate a blockbuster deal with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
...Sanders eased past Smith in the Cowboys' salary list last season when Parker got him a five-year, $25 million contract including a league-record $12.9 million signing bonus.
...Smith, a four-time NFL rushing champion with three Super Bowl rings, has hired Parker apparently hoping to regain his place as the team's second highest paid player behind Troy Aikman.
..."Emmitt Smith stands alone as a player. Not only in terms of the Cowboys but in terms of the whole league," Parker told The Dallas Morning News on Monday. "So I'm sure Emmitt expects a contract that is commensurate with those of the top players of the league, rather than him looking at any one player such as Deion."
...For his part, Jones responded positively to Smith's decision, saying the negotiations should begin this month.
..."I just think Emmitt has done what you would expect, and that is to hire some very competent people to advise and represent him," Jones said from his hotel room in West Palm Beach, Fla., where he is attending the NFL owners' meeting. "Eugene Parker is very knowledgeable and has represented the very best."
...Smith signed a four-year $13.6 million contract after a bitter dispute that led him to miss the first two weeks of the 1993 season. He has since fired agent Richard Howell.