The New Meadowlands Stadium that was opened this past season without a sponsor as well, but current negotiations put the price at $18 million per year soon to be made official. Since the new home of the New York Giants and New York Jets is the next best thing aside from Cowboys Stadium, that number will set the market for naming rights negotiations for the home of America’s Team.

Since Cowboys Stadium is now two years old, Jones will receive much less compensation for a naming rights deal than if a deal was struck on or before the day the stadium was opened. The stadium in Los Angeles that’s yet to be built already has a naming rights deal with Farmer’s Insurance for $700 million over 30 years. That’s over $23 million per year and I’m sure Jones could have found a way to get more than that at the time Cowboys Stadium was being built. It’s unlike to Jones to miss out on a few bucks, let alone a few million of them.

The first of these marquee matchups will take place on Sept. 3, when a very unusual couple of teams meet for just the fourth time in history. Louisiana State University (LSU) and the University of Oregon will take the turf in Cowboys Stadium to face each other for the first time in 1977. In the current Associated Press (AP) preseason poll, Oregon is No. 7 while LSU is No. 19. Both teams look to be in the thick of the national championship hunt this season.

Texas Christian University (TCU) and Brigham Young University (BYU) will meet for the 11th time in history on Oct. 28 in Cowboys Stadium. Each team has played once before in the home of America’s Team; BYU beat Oklahoma in 2009 and TCU defeated Oregon State in 2010.

Just as a sneak preview, the Universities of Alabama and Michigan will play in the Cowboys Stadium Classic on Sept. 1, 2012.

It turns out that around 1,000 of the 1,250 fans that had to be relocated due to unsecure temporary seating during Super Bowl XLV in Cowboys Stadium are suing the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys, and Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones. A lawsuit filed in Dallas will award $5 million in damages to the angry plaintiffs if won by the fans. Under Texas’ trade law, that number can even be tripled if the circumstances play out right for the disgruntled fans.

The charges in this complex lawsuit include: fraud, breach of contract, fraud and deceptive sales practices. The fans are upset because they purchased tickets to upper level and end zone temporary seating that was set up in an attempt to break the all-time Super Bowl attendance record. When a snowstorm hit the Dallas-Fort Worth area the week before the big game, the construction of those seats were delayed until the day of the event. Once the seats were finally erected, the Arlington Fire Marshall did not have adequate time to inspect the seats by law.

The announcement that the fans would have to be relocated was made just 15 minutes before kickoff on Sunday. The NFL scrambled to fix the problem by putting 850 of the fans in other seating areas. Two days after the game, information was released that some of those fans were given “temporary metal fold-out chairs.” Michael Avenatti is representing the fans and spoke to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on the matter. “The NFL and Jerry Jones sold something to fans they weren’t able to deliver, and they knew they weren’t able to deliver it,” Avenatti said.

On Monday, the NFL announced that the relocated fans would each receive $2,400, which is triple the $800 face value price of the tickets. In addition, those fans were also to be given free tickets to Super Bowl XLVI in 2012 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis that they can keep or resell. The problem with that option is that many of the fans paid much more than face value for the tickets. Some of them paid over $6,000 or their tickets.

On Tuesday, the league told the fans they can have another option for compensation. That second option will allow the fans to choose any future Super Bowl to attend, with round-trip airfare and hotel accommodation included. The fans can wait until each year’s Super Bowl participants are announced before choosing which game they wish to attend. However, the fans do not receive the $2,400 if they choose option two, nor can they resell the ticket.

Not all fans who seek damages are included in the lawsuit. Several fans that arrived at the stadium were also given the metal fold-out chairs as their primary seating option. It’s uncertain yet whether any of these fans will join the lawsuit or file their own. “We think that this is a pretty straightforward matter,” Avenatti said. “People did not obtain what they were told they were going to get.”

Maybe the NFL should let the host city organize the seating at the Super Bowl from now on. Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones planned for Sunday’s event with careful detail and made the entire ordeal a big hit. However, he was not in charge of seating inside his own $1.15 billion stadium. The NFL rules that the league will take over the duties in the host stadium each year for the Super Bowl. However, when 1,250 fans had to be relocated and/or refunded because of seating issues less than 15 minutes before kickoff, the NFL realized it might be doing too much.

The NFL erected over 15,000 temporary seats in Cowboys Stadium for the Super Bowl in hopes of setting the all-time attendance record for the big game. However, the snowstorm that hit the Dallas-Fort Worth area this past week caused that work to be delayed. When temperatures warmed up to the 50s on Sunday, the league hurried to finish the seating, but failed to do so. The fire marshal did not have time to properly inspect all of the seats before kickoff and 1,250 fans had to be “relocated.”

Six different sections in Cowboys Stadium were deemed unsafe, so the league put 850 of those fans in “similar or better” seats. I don’t know how that’s possible since the game was sold out. It’s probably just another fib from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to try and cover up another screw-up. As for the other 400 fans that lost their seats, they got a refund and were offered spots in the outdoor plazas where they could watch the game on jumbotrons or in seats in the North Field Club behind the Steelers bench. Either way, those fans did not get to attend the game the way they planned.

Let’s be honest; Jones is not the smartest guy in the world when it comes to building a championship football team. However, he’s an absolute genius when it comes to marketing and promotion for his team. He strategically constructed the most impressive sports arena in the world in such a timely manner that the Cowboys would have an excellent shot to become the first NFL team to play a home game in the Super Bowl. Of course, everyone knows that didn’t happen because the Cowboys blew their shot at the Super Bowl with a 1-7 start under the now-fired Wade Phillips, but that’s another rant. Maybe Goodell and the league will let guys like Jones handle the seating in their own stadium from now on. Just food for thought.

Titletown has yet another championship. The Green Bay Packers have won more NFL Championships than any other franchise, dating back to before the first Super Bowl in 1967. That Super Bowl and the following one saw Packers quarterback Bart Starr lead his team to back-to-back titles. That team was coached by the legendary Vince Lombardi, after whom the Super Bowl trophy was named. Thus, the trophy has returned home to the place where it originated. Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones watched as Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers took MVP honors by leading his team to a 31-25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV in Cowboys Stadium.

The NFL’s most historic franchise brought yet another championship home on Sunday. The Green Bay Packers shed the shadow of former quarterback Brett Favre by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium. Favre’s replacement, Aaron Rodgers, delivered one of the greatest performances by a quarterback in Super Bowl history, earning him MVP honors; something Favre never did. Rodgers passed for 304 yards and three touchdowns; also something Favre never did. It took Favre five years as a starter in Green Bay to win a Super Bowl. In only took Rodgers three.

Still an old man fan? Here come the stats. In his Super Bowl-winning season, Favre completed 59.9 percent of his passes in the regular season. Rodgers completed 65.7 percent. Favre threw for 3,899 yards. Rodgers topped that with 3,922. Rodgers also had a higher passer rating with 101.2, topping Favre’s 95.8.

Postseason? The youngster still gets the nod. In their postseason games during their Super Bowl years, Rodgers outdid his former mentor again. The California product had a higher completion percentage than Favre, more passing yards, and a better passing rating throughout the postseason.

Let’s not forget that Rodgers is also a role model; he has yet to send nude pictures to a news reporter that could be his granddaughter. He has also yet to lie to an organization that embraced him as a hero and idol. Favre has not only done both of those things, but has had trouble with drug abuse, infidelity, and consistent play. He is the all-time leader in interceptions and fumbles as well as passing yards and passing touchdowns. Just had to throw that out there.

In short, Rodgers has already surpassed Favre as a legendary Packers quarterback. The scariest part? He’s just getting started.

Any real Cowboys fan remembers Witten getting his helmet ripped off by the Eagles’ Quintin Mikell after catching a pass, and then continued to run 15 more yards downfield before finally being tackled helmetless. Cowboys fan or foe, everyone in the football world gained immediate respect for the six-time Pro Bowler. The legacy of Witten’s heroics on that play was cemented on Friday when the NFL passed the Jason Witten Rule. The regulation reads: “the ball will be dead if a runner’s helmet comes off.” Everyone respects and admires Witten’s courage and toughness as a player, person, and especially for that one play. However, due to the NFL’s persistence to reduce the number of player concussions, referees will begin blowing their whistles and waving their arms if a ball carrier’s hat pops off again. Cowboys’ players seem to have a knack for these types of things.

[picappgallerysingle id="7185674"]Not only did a Cowboys player get a new rule for the 2010 season, but the Cowboys Stadium got its own rule expanded. During the stadium’s debut season last year, there were not many punts that hit the gigantic Jumbo Jerry screen that hangs 90 feet above the field. Downs were replayed on the few that did happen to find their way into the big television screen in the sky. This year, that rule will be expanded to any video board, sky cam, guide wire, etc. In other words, if a punt hits anything that is not part of the field, the play will be ruled dead on the spot. Add that to the list of credentials on Jerry Jones’ long list.

By far the most monumental rule change of the 2010 season has nothing to do with any one specific team. The NFL has also announced that overtime rules will change during the playoffs. Football fans have been calling for some sort of change to the sudden death rule that has proved so boring or many years. The basis of the overtime period has not changed, but the quick half-drive-and-field-goal strategy will no longer guarantee you a victory. Due to the new rule change, a field goal by the team who wins the overtime coin toss will not end the game. Instead, the opposing team can tie with their own field goal and then play sudden death or win the game with a touchdown. This will prevent short, stubby overtimes like the Saints and Vikings in the NFC Championship Game this past January.

The new rules are excellent moves by the NFL. The Cowboys Stadium Rule is kind of an obvious one, but improving players’ safety is a top priority of the league. Thus, the Jason Witten Rule will hopefully cut down on player injuries, specifically concussions. If you have ever had a concussion, especially in football, then you know the physical and mental pain that is involved in such an injury. Even if you are a violence-lover who lives for those Ray Lewis-like big hits, you have to enjoy the new rules that illustrate the NFL’s diligence to improve the safety of the game. And wouldn’t you know it; the rules for tough players came from yet another Dallas Cowboys.

Super Bowl XLV will be played on February 6, 2011, at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, about 15 miles from Sundance Square. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones built the largest and most expensive indoor arena in league history in 2009. Still without a sponsor, Cowboys Stadium cost a whopping $1.15 billion, complete with a retractable roof and endzone glass walls. The Cowbys will attempt to avoid any travel in the final week of the postseason as they attempt to become the first team to host the Super Bowl.

The expectations are high this year for Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, but this is not unfamiliar for him. For three miserable seasons in a row, the Cowboys were criticized for not playing well down the stretch. No Cowboys player was scrutinized more than quarterback Tony Romo. It all started with the fumbled snap on the easy field goal attempt to beat the Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card round of the playoffs in the 2006 season.  In 2007, the Cowboys’ superb regular season was overshadowed by the New England Patriots’ 16-0 phenomenon. That year, Dallas tied its franchise record of 13 victories and claimed the #1 seed in the NFC playoffs. Many expected Dallas to meet New England in the Super Bowl that year in a clash of the titans. Instead, Dallas lost to the 6th-seeded New York Giants, whom they had previously beaten twice that year. Personally in attendance at that game, I watched in despair as a Romo pass fell incomplete on 4th and goal with only seconds remaining.

Romo was the starting quarterback for the NFC in the Pro Bowl at the end of the 2007 season. He ranked 3rd in the NFL in passing yards in 2007, 2nd in passing touchdowns, and 9th in completion percentage. Romo’s number nine became the top-selling jersey in all of professional sports on the planet. However, all the hype that had been building to greater heights than the summit of Mount Everest vanished when Dallas was upset by their division rivals. The Cowboys missed the playoffs in 2008, and the expectations fell greatly. The Cowboys surprised many critics last season by winning their division and defeating the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round of the playoffs before getting blown out by the Minnesota Vikings in the divisional round. The victory over the Eagles was the Cowboys first playoff win since 1996.

Why all this Cowboys history? The expectations are high again this year. Romo surpassed expectations this past season for the second time in his career, but the end result for the team was the same. This year, Dallas not only hopes, but expects to advance farther than the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs. If Romo meets or surpasses expectations again in 2010, he could find his name on the MVP ballots at the end of the season. Before you scoff, take a look at Romo’s stats from this past year. Romo ranked 3rd in passing yards with 4,398, 10th in passing touchdowns with 26, and 8th in quarterback rating at 97.6.

Romo is easily a top 10 quarterback, so why not throw his name in there if Dallas makes history by hosting the Super Bowl? That’s just it – the Cowboys have to win the Super Bowl this year for Romo to even be in the discussion. Tony can do it. The Eastern Illinois product will again throw for 4,000 yards again this year, and I believe he will throw at least 30 touchdown passes. New receiver Dez Bryant will provide another excellent target for Romo. Tight end Jason Witten possesses the most reliable hands on the team and wide receiver Miles Austin is the team’s most explosive target after his breakout season in 2009. Contrary to popular belief, Roy Williams will be the receiver we all remember from the University of Texas again this year. I am a longtime fan of Williams’ and I am one of many who still have faith in the 7th-season veteran.

The running back situation for Dallas could not be any better. No one on the team will benefit from Felix Jones, Marion Barber, and Tashard Choice’s talent that Romo. The three-headed monster that inhabits the Cowboys’ backfield will allow Romo to post historical numbers this year and vie for the MVP award. Romo made new believers out of many doubters by playing his best football in the last quarter of the season. This will finally be the year that he plays to his full potential for 16 full games, and then into the postseason. Drew Brees and Peyton Manning rule the roost at the moment, but Romo’s time is coming. Any Cowboys fan will tell you that it is high time.