The contract extensions that the NFL negotiated with CBS and Fox this week include provisions that the league will be paid by the networks in 2011 -- even if no games are played because of a lockout.

The NFL will receive a 1 to 2 percent increase over the previous contracts that averaged $712 million a year from Fox and $622 million a year from CBS. According to two people with knowledge of the deal who were not authorized to speak about it, the NFL will get that money even if games are not played in 2011. (The networks will receive credits for the payments in following years.)

The money will finance the league's war chest and allow the NFL to keep its owners united and the teams operating if negotiations to reach a new collective bargaining agreement falter.

The Delaware Supreme Court may weigh in on whether a sports betting lottery complies with the state constitution, with justices late this past week listening to oral arguments on reasons they should issue an opinion.

Gov. Jack Markell's office has requested the court's view on the bill he signed last week under which Delaware would become the only state east of the Rocky Mountains offering sports wagering.

As envisioned by Markell, the sports lottery would allow straight bets on the outcome of athletic events, using a point spread or money line to ensure roughly equal amounts of wagers on each side. It would also allow over/under betting on the total score of a game; and parlay bets in which players must select two or more elements, such as the winner of two or games or two or more over/under bets.

Jerry Jones showed off his bigger, better video board at new Cowboys Stadium this week. The four-sided Mitsubishi board is 160 feet long, 72 feet high, weighs 600 tons and hangs over the center of the field. Two screens that are 29 feet by 51 feet are attached to each end. It would take nearly 5,000 52-inch flat panel TVs to equal its square footage.

In other Cowboys news, the team will reportedly either trade or release linebacker Greg Ellis. He is due a $4.15 million base salary and $1.5 million guaranteed this season.