European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 19, 1981, Darmstadt, Hesse February 1981 the stars and stripes Page 23 free agents in nil Arena really free if a free agent in pro football were truly at As a free agent in baseball the giants and the along with several other National football league presumably would be throwing Money at Walter Payton j for Start the bidding for Payton at million a do we hear million Wellington Mara bids do we hear million Leon Hess bids do we hear million do we hear All the other nil players wondering How soon they can play out the option clause in their contracts do we hear All the other nil owners toppling to the floor in a faint or do we that the difference Between baseball and pro in the extravagant contracts for free such As Dave Winfields million annual salary with the new York Yankees for the next is not so much the result of the players being free As it is the owners being free to bid for him without having to compensate his former in pro the players allegedly Are free but the owners Are after signing a free an nil club must compensate the free agents former team with a High draft Choice or two the Lifeblood of most teams some pro football owners might pre Fer the status but surely some do thatis the Crux of the Nils impending labor in the or of de the executive director of the nil players Assoc a pro football club owners would not be willing to spend millions to at least not in the sense that Many baseball club owners have in the five years of their free agent Garvey argument is that Mara of the giants or Hess of the for would not bestow millions because each of those bad teams plays to sellout crowds even if the giants or the jets were to win the super bowl with believes those clubs would not increase their profit margins that and concludes free Agency with out compensation in the would not be the Bonanza for the players that it is in on that when the pro football contract negotiations begin for the 1982 Garvey wants to create a wage scale in the nil based on the players associations receiving 55 percent of the leagues Gross Revenue ticket to and the according to the players income now represents Only 28 percent of the Nils Gross the of resent Garvey attempted invasion of their accountants if the players association is to collect 55 percent of the it must know 100 percent of the before these labor negotiations Are re Garvey philosophy must be Al though he apparently has the Best interests of All the players in mind rather than merely those of the Blue Chip he would be doing a disservice to those who could capitalize by being free and in assuming that some club owners do not want to spend much Money to win because they could not increase their profit margin that he is surely underestimating How some would react if turned Ferragamo and Swann would be the most coveted of the two dozen name players among the 137 free agents now but a club that has signed Ferragamo or Swann would be required to compensate the Chicago the los Angeles rams or the Pittsburgh with two first round draft that is the Ransom for a free agent who joins another club for a salary of or More a plateau that Ferragamo and Swann surely would now the fifth leading career rusher in nil history with Yards in Only six who will be 27 years old in was pro footballs High est salaried player last season at according to recently published with incentive to Earl Campbell of the Houston oilers was believed to have earned about with a base salary of but if Garvey believes that Mara and Hess would not open their Safe Deposit vaults for he does not understand those two before the 1976 before the baseball auctions the giants put up million to sign Larry Csonka Over three and last year the according to a Davis of the Oakland put up million in salary and Bonus to sign Johnny Lam Jones Over six if Only out of fear of their Long suffering both the giants and the jets surely would bid High for Walter the running Back that each team needs if he could be signed without having to surrender two first round because of that both the giants and the jets cannot be blamed now for not being willing to pursue whose asking Price is million a especially when the giants have the second Choice in the april 28 draft and the jets have the third but if Walter Payton were still a free agent after the he might be Worth the Ransom of a presumably later first round Choice in both the 1982 and 1983 chances that Payton will return to the Chicago Ferragamo to the rams and Swann to the in the three years of alleged free agents in the Only 20 have actually brought Back offers from other teams to their original Only Norm a actually signed with another club with compensation moving to the Baltimore Colts from the Louis cardinals before the 1978 and As Payton is discovering he might be but no nil owner is free to sign c the new York times Scott bored running with same foes by Frank Litsky Toronto not since Steve Scott has been americas Best but he admits he is getting a Little bored by running one mile race after almost always against the same the things that keep him excited Are the indoor Battles he is having with Eamonn Coghlan of the outdoor Battles he Hopes to have with Steve Ovett and Sebas Tian Coe of England and the quest for two records that have eluded him so far the world indoor Best and the american out door i prime for certain said i just the race Hast got but people its always Eamonn Steve John Filbert Tom Ray Flynn and with one or two its kind of Scott has run six indoor Miles in the last six he won the first three in 3 min utes and he lost the last finishing second and second in and Coghlan won those last three including last Friday night in Toronto and sat urday night in in Scotts one de parture from the he ran a world indoor Best of for next comes a Friday night mile in san Over the fast track on which Coghlan in 1979 ran the fastest Ever who in the race Scott Bay and he was see what i mean he but its a Chance to get the indoor record and beat Hes so Good because he has an overwhelming amount of Confidence in when he was at he trained every Day on a Board getting to know getting comfortable on i have been on an indoor track probably 25 a Steve Scott americas Best times in my i never train on indoor track is big in the theres an Eamonn Coghlan a Don Paige where i come from in the indoor track is like going to the movies on Friday its a Chance to see get a hot dog and Beer and watch a few but i like the and i like the its a Glamour event and receives a lot of but its a difficult race to train for because you need an optimum amount of Speed As Well Asim blessed with natural ability to run some like Mark Are born with a lot of like Alber to Are born with i have a Scott is looking Forward to the euro Pean outdoor season and More meetings with Ovett and 1 have one win against Ovett and about 10 or 15 said against in 0 and Ovett is very Strong in a fast Pace and he has the Speed for a slow kickers so its hard to build an Ideal racing situation against can i out kick him three years ago we would be even with 300 meters to go and he would beat me by 2 or 3 Sec last it was by a tenth of Ovett shuns the news Media and and he often shuns big Hes a different kind of said i dont think Hes helping further our Hes Loose around athletes and always talks with though never in but he Doest seem to enjoy it seems a big hassle to Coe is open and casual with but i dont know him that Ive set up my schedule to go in All the big races this if there if in not going to Chase one of Scotts two races against Coe came in july when Coe set the world record of Scott finished second in his Best Ever and Only a tenth of a second slower than Jim runs 1967 american in july Ovett Low ered Coes world record to i think i can run this said if i get a situation where peo ple run with me and i get a fast then you dont have to just Scott has been running track since his Junior year in High he was born and raised in 40 Miles East of los when i started High he 1 stood 5 feet 10 inches and weighed 130 or 140 with my 1 want going to play so i ran Cross coun in my Junior i started track As a Quarter Miler and in my senior 1 ran a in my freshman year at the University of 1 ran a that convinced me i would be a the rather than the slightly longer is run in american outdoor and Scott won the title in 1978 and he won the National collegiate title in his senior he lives in where he is assistant track coach at Arizona he is 24 years 61 and 160 with Blue eyes and Light Brown he is a powerful runner who prefers to Wear Down the opposition with a Long his Power comes from hard train when the indoor season he plans considerable roadwork and Over distance perhaps 90 to 100 Miles a week of Quality Don Paige told me Hes on the track almost every said i told him in on the track Only once a we looked at each other As if to youre but in a strength not a Speed i need heavy Scott said the meters and the mile would remain his priority until after the 1984 then he plans to move us to the ill be 28 by the time of the he i think 26 to 28 is the optimum age for and i dont think i will have lost any Speed by but in going to need a full time Job after the and i think training for the or 000 meters wont take that much time
