Terrell Owens should set aside part of his roster bonus from Dallas to pay his old team a debt.

An arbitrator ruled in favor of the Philadelphia Eagles last Friday on a grievance that was filed by the NFL players' union on Owens' behalf in 2005.

A team spokesman said the Eagles would not comment. Owens' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, did not return a phone message.

The union disputed the Eagles' effort to recover $1.725 million of the $2.3 million signing bonus the team paid the wide receiver when it signed him to a seven-year, $48.97 million deal in 2004.

Owens was kicked off the team seven games into the 2005 season for a series of infractions, including repeated criticism of quarterback Donovan McNabb and lashing out against management. He was suspended four games without pay and the team withheld his final five paychecks, totaling $955,880. That means Owens still owes the Eagles $769,120.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said this month he plans to pay Owens a $3 million roster bonus, so the All-Pro should have some extra cash to pay the Eagles.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, citing a league source, first reported arbitrator Shyam Das ruled against Owens. An NFL spokesman confirmed the report to The Associated Press.

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

SI.com - NFL - Owens owes Eagles part of his signing bonus - Tuesday January 29, 2008 5:56PM

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