When the Dallas Cowboys play their first game here later this year, team owner Jerry Jones might have a temporary name for his stadium and a lot less cash than he expected.

A naming rights deal to add hundreds of millions of dollars to his bottom line hasn't materialized, and sports business professionals said Jones might not find a sponsor this year unless he's willing to offer a deep discount. Even optimistic naming rights consultants are saying that a blockbuster deal is probably off the table in this year of economic turmoil.

"Chances are, there are offers, but they are coming in well below what the Cowboys want," said naming rights consultant Terry Burton, who is not involved with the negotiations.

He said the Cowboys would be best served by waiting for the economic downturn to "play out." Burton, owner of Vancouver, Canada-based Dig In Research 2007 Inc., which evaluates sponsorship and philanthropic naming rights deals, said he believes the market could bounce back to previous levels in time for Super Bowl XLV in Arlington in 2011.

However, such a delay means that a sponsor would miss all the publicity surrounding the opening - such as concerts, large-scale tours and other high-profile events - as well as national attention when the Cowboys play their first regular-season game in Arlington.

Cowboys spokesman Brett Daniels declined to comment about naming rights negotiations for the $1.1 billion stadium, which is projected to open June 1. Team officials, including Jones, also have declined to discuss specifics in the past.

Daniels also would not say what the team would call the stadium if a naming rights deal weren't in place when it opens.

AT&T officials, who have been rumored to be interested in the stadium's naming rights, said they have not signed a deal with the Cowboys. Sarah Andreani, spokeswoman for the telecommunications giant, said several high-profile stadiums are opening soon, and "we have been approached about most of them."

She declined to say whether AT&T was negotiating with the Cowboys.

AT&T is among the world's biggest corporate advertisers and spent about $1.3 billion to promote its brand last year. Its name can be found from the San Francisco Giants' baseball stadium to the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic to the AT&T Center in San Antonio, home of the Spurs.

The company also announced 12,000 layoffs in December and froze salaries for an additional 120,000 employees last month...

...The Nielsen Co. calculated that the Super Bowl earlier this month attracted an average 98.7 million viewers and peaked at 151.6 million. Joyce Julius & Associates estimated the value of TV time received by the stadium's name sponsor, Raymond James, at $37.3 million.

Burton said he's seeing hints that the decline in the naming rights market could turn around soon.

"There are enough indicators in terms of naming rights activities and other [philanthropic] gift and sponsorship activity that have been coming through that it's not a continuous flush downhill," he said.

But Burton said that many big financial services firms - which have been major players in sports marketing - are probably out of the bidding. Two members of Congress wrote Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner criticizing Citigroup for going forward with its deal with the Mets while the company is taking federal bailout money.

Citigroup and Barclays Capital both have said they are sticking by their naming rights deals. Burton said that most banks couldn't make a deal like that today.

"There's too much flak, and it detracts too much from what you're trying to do," he said.

Narcise said that a company would have to have a solid plan explaining why it would commit to a huge naming rights deal.

He said the financial services firms Raymond James and Edward Jones signed deals with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and St. Louis Rams, respectively, to help make their companies household names. When FedEx bought the naming rights to the Washington Redskins stadium, Narcise said, the company was trying to expand its international business so that visibility close to Embassy Row in Washington, D.C., was a smart move.

He said that a corporation such as Irving-based Exxon Mobil, which set records recently for highest corporate profit ever for a U.S. company, could afford the Cowboys' asking price, but there might not be many benefits.

"There are a lot of companies out there than can stroke the check," Narcise said. "The real question is do they need to stroke the check."