Agents Say Chargers Are Offering Less

The United States Football League has taken its share of abuse, along with two Charger No. 1 draft choices, but it won’t get the blame this time if a rash of contractual stalemates develops in Mission Valley.

If early indications prove accurate, the Chargers may have difficulty signing their draft choices this year--and they probably will have a lot of company.

The agents for the Chargers’ first two selections said the team seems to be doing its part to honor a recommendation by the National Football League Management Council that teams pay draftees 1983-level salaries.

The Chargers failed to sign No. 1 picks Gary Anderson in 1983 and Mossy Cade in 1984, when the rival USFL had more allure.

But this year the Chargers and their NFL brethren have only their own tightfistedness to blame if there is a siege of holdouts, as predicted by several agents.

Leigh Steinberg, who counts San Diego-bound offensive tackle Jim Lachey among four first-rounders he represents, said his early reading of contract offers indicates the league’s general managers are going the management council one better.

Instead of 1983-level salaries, the NFL’s bargain hunters are seeking a return to the pay scale of 1980 or 1981, Steinberg said.

That opinion was seconded by Edward Sewell, who represents defensive back Wayne Davis, San Diego’s first pick on the second round.

Although neither agent is ready to begin firing shrapnel at General Manager Johnny Sanders, the possibility of one or more protracted holdouts is a real one.

Owner Alex Spanos has vowed to sign each of his team’s draft selections, and he stuck by that pronouncement in a low-key sort of way when questioned this week.

“We’ll take it as it comes,” Spanos said, “and we hope to have everyone signed by the time camp begins (in mid-July).”

It may work out that way, but it would be precedent-setting for the Chargers, whose recent summers have been spiced with acrimony and missing draftees.

Steinberg, who tangled with Sanders in an abortive attempt to keep quarterback Ed Luther in a Charger uniform late last winter, said he thinks there is a chance the Lachey negotiations can be handled “expeditiously.”

He made that statement based on his long-standing relationship with Sanders, not on the Chargers’ first proposal, which Steinberg categorized as “a proposal.” The implication was that the offer was too low to dignify with an adjective.

Based on 1984 contracts awarded first-round draft picks, Lachey probably could have anticipated a four-year deal worth about $2 million.

He and other 1985 first-rounders may eventually receive contracts in that neighborhood, but not without some strenuous negotiations.

“The first offers indicate the league’s general managers are trying to roll back the salary level to 1980 or 1981 levels,” Steinberg said. “They must have misread the management council edict, because the offers (to first-round picks) have been uniformly lower than in the last two or three years. The groupings and structure of the numbers are so low, it’s as if someone is orchestrating it. It seems to be a collective strategy.”

Steinberg said he might consider a contract of five years’ duration because there is less volatility in the salaries of linemen.

“There is less chance of being egregiously low (with a lineman),” Steinberg said. “With a good year a quarterback can go from being worth $200,000 to $600,000 in a season, where a lineman with a spectacular year might increase his value from $200,000 to $260,000.”

Based on numbers he has seen, Sewell said a 1985 first-round pick typically has been offered a four-year deal for $1 million, or about half of what last year’s counterpart could command.

“As Leigh said, the offers seem a throwback to 1980,” Sewell said. “I know they want a rollback. They’re using three- and four-year-old numbers for the second-round picks, as well as first-rounders.”

The range for second-round picks last year was $1.2 million for four years, according to Sewell.

Both Davis and safety Jeff Dale, San Diego’s other second-round pick, will have a struggle to win a contract that generous, it appears.

“The supply / demand equation is not as favorable,” Sewell said, meaning the USFL is no longer actively bidding for talent in a broad way.

Sewell then sent a message to Charger management, saying, “You won’t see desperate agents caving in. I predict teams will hold out for the last buck, which means a lot of players will be late reporting or miss training camp altogether.”

The Chargers have aggressively signed free agent veterans this spring, which may bode well for getting all the rookies to agree to terms. The only significant veteran still unsigned is linebacker Linden King, who said he is optimistic about signing by the time camp opens.