DALLAS (AP) _ The Dallas Cowboys will give the winner of a reality TV show one of the 80 spots on its training camp roster.
Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin is launching the show in which 12 ”football neophytes” will compete.
”I don’t know if you can walk upon any group of guys that wouldn’t say they dreamed of playing in the NFL when they were playing in their front yard,” Irvin said Thursday. ”So we’re going to take a group of guys from their front yard, dwindle them to one and give that guy the opportunity of a lifetime.”
The show, which doesn’t yet have a title, is being produced by the same company that’s behind ”The Biggest Loser” and many other reality TV hits.
Contestants are still being selected. They likely will need a football background _ just not too much. They also must be the right age, size and condition to handle an NFL training camp. The Cowboys open camp in late July in San Antonio.
”We want someone who will have a real opportunity to make the team,” Irvin said. He also indicated the better the back story, the better an applicant’s chance of making the show.
”You could’ve played college ball and had to give up for some reason,” he said. ”You know how many stories are out there of players who for some reason or another had to walk away from the game. … We want to find those guys.”
Irvin will be the host and he expects to have guest appearances from friends like Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Deion Sanders and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Judges will include Jones and former players and coaches.
The show will pit six receivers and six defensive backs. As for how they will compete, all Irvin would say is, ”Tune in and watch. It’ll be groundbreaking in so many ways.”
The winner’s biggest payoff will be the fulfillment of playing for the Cowboys. While the rookie minimum is about $300,000, that’s only if he makes the team. The salary in training camp is closer to $1,000 a week for an undrafted rookie.
Irvin said this is about far more than money. It’s the chance to catch passes from Tony Romo or to line up opposite Terrell Owens.
”What young man do you know that’s not going to read (about this show), then head straight to the gym and say, ‘I’m going to get ready,’?” Irvin said. ”That’s how this will inspire people.”
