Minnesota Vikings

Garrett entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 1989 with the Saints' developmental squad before being released prior to the 1990 season. He spent that year as assistant coach at Princeton University, his alma mater, where he had been an honorable mention All-American and Ivy League Player of the Year as a senior in 1988. In 1991 Garrett moved on to play in the World League and the Canadian Football League before joining the Cowboys~R practice squad in 1992.

Newson spent all of 2004 on the team's injured reserve list with a torn left Achilles~R tendon that he sustained in the Dolphins~R first preseason games, on August 14 against Jacksonville. Over the past several years, McCombs has attempted unsuccessfully to convince the state legislature to approve a new stadium for his franchise.

Fowler has been working on the acquisition of the Vikings for several months and his pursuit of the franchise accelerated in recent weeks, as he and McCombs entered into an exclusive negotiating period.

Fowler, 46, who played linebacker at the University of Wyoming and had a brief stint as a pro, is the founder of Spiral Inc., a Chandler, Ariz.-based company with diversified holdings that include paper products and cleaning supplies, an aviation firm, a foam-manufacturing plant and a cattle ranch. The group Fowler has assembled to buy the Vikings includes some prominent New York-New Jersey real estate magnates.

It is expected Fowler would be the managing partner and according to the NFL ownership rules, he would be required to have at least a 30 percent interest in the club. On Feb. 4, the group Minnesota Vikings Football LLC was incorporated in Delaware and, while records do not reveal the shareholders, it is believed to be the Fowler group.

Any franchise purchase must be approved by the league finance committee and then by a three-quarters vote of the 32 owners. That process could take months to complete. The next scheduled owners meeting is the annual league session March 20-23 in Maui, Hawaii.

Taylor has broadly suggested in recent days that Fowler and his partners might have a difficult time garnering league approval of the sale. Taylor has said he is prepared to pursue the team if the Fowler deal falls through.