Ram Camp : League Voids an Offer to Gray, Agent Says; Dickerson Waiting

Ram Vice President John Shaw continued his juggling act Tuesday, keeping three athletes and their agents in the air simultaneously.

On the various fronts:

--Calvin Guidry, the agent for first-round draft choice Jerry Gray, said the Rams on Monday made “an illegal offer” that was voided by the National Football League’s Management Council.

--Dominic Frontiere, husband of the club’s owner, phoned Gray’s agent Tuesday to reassure him of “Georgia’s interest” in signing the two-time All-American defensive back from Texas.

--A spokesman for Eric Dickerson, who has indicated the running back won’t report to training camp next weekend unless the Rams negotiate a contract extension, said that “absolutely nothing has happened” to avert a holdout.

--Second-round draft choice Chuck Scott, a wide receiver from Vanderbilt, also was unsigned and absent nine days after rookies were due to report.

Guidry said by phone from Fort Worth: “They made an offer to me on Monday that was an illegal offer. It violated the collective bargaining agreement.”

Guidry cited Article XIV, Section 2 of the agreement signed between the players association and the management council to end the strike in 1982. It reads:

“Any one-year contract signed by a rookie player must include an option year. . . . “

Guidry said: “I tried to take them up on the offer. I knew the management council would call them and tell them they couldn’t make the deal.”

Guidry said the Rams went so far as to order pre-paid tickets for Guidry and Gray at the Austin airport so the two could fly to Los Angeles Monday to sign.

“Jerry was waiting at the airport,” Guidry said. “Apparently, they had tracked him down. He said, ‘I think they want you to call them.’ ”

Guidry said he checked at the ticket counter and the tickets “were in the process of being canceled.”

Management council spokesman Jim Miller said from New York that indications were that both sides were willing to go along with the agreement if the league and union approved.

Miller said: “It’s our understanding that John Shaw told Guidry, ‘Check with the management council. If they’ll go along with it, I’ll go along with it.’ ”

Miller said executive director Jack Donlan and general counsel Sarge Karch then discussed the matter and decided “not to get into waiving portions of the collective bargaining agreement.

“We called Shaw and he said, ‘OK, fine.’ ”

In any case, the negotiations are turning from impasse to bitter, which may be why Dominic Frontiere tried to smooth things over.

“Either he (Shaw) is not negotiating in good faith or they really don’t want Jerry,” Guidry said.

Guidry said the Rams have not budged from an original offer of $1 million over four years, composed of a $400,000 signing bonus and progressive salaries of $100,000, $125,000, $175,000 and $200,000.

Guidry is seeking what he considers to be “market value” for a player drafted low in the first round, meaning the sides are six or seven hundred thousand dollars apart--”at least,” Guidry said.

Guidry said that he and other agents attempted to establish the 1985 market by comparing offers at a meeting in Chicago last week when it became obvious the NFL clubs, no longer threatened by the United States Football League, were trying to roll back rookie salaries to ’81 levels.

For example, Guidry was among the first to know this week when the Raiders signed wide receiver Jessie Hester, who was drafted two turns behind Gray, in the 23rd position, to a five-year deal calling for $1.808 million.

Into this atmosphere Tuesday stepped Dominic Frontiere, who maintains he takes no active part in running the Rams.

“He wasn’t speaking in a negotiating capacity,” Guidry said. “He was as polite as could be. He just wanted to assure me of Georgia’s interest, that she is high on Jerry. I thought it was very kind of him, and I did pass the message along to Jerry.

“I did feel they really didn’t want him, and if they didn’t want him they should trade him. He didn’t deserve the anxiety he’s been through.”

Guidry also received an indirect message from Ram Coach John Robinson, who was quoted Monday as saying: “Our patience only goes so far. If we don’t get all our players in, we will do something else.”

Squeeze play?

Guidry: “That’s a light squeeze.”

Scott and his agent, Vern Sharbaugh of Cleveland, are in a similar position. Scott spent considerable time working out at Rams Park in the spring after the draft but, like Gray, can’t report to training camp until he signs, according to NFL rules. He continued to hang around Orange County for a while this summer but finally went home to Florida to await developments.

Shaw, as usual, declined to comment on any of the negotiations before him.

Jack Rodri, who is representing Dickerson, said his side plans to wait until Sunday before deciding whether the all-pro running back will stay out of camp, holding out hope that Shaw will call in a conciliatory mood.

Rodri, associate Ken Norton, lawyer David Epstein and Dickerson plan to have breakfast together Sunday to reach a tentative decision, but there seemed to be disagreement on when Dickerson would be considered officially AWOL.

Rodri said: “If we make the decision (to hold out), Eric will have until midnight Sunday to change his mind.”

But Robinson said he’d allow Dickerson more slack than that--right up to the first practice for veterans, scheduled at 3 p.m. Monday.

Rodri has said that if Dickerson does decide to hold out, he will conduct a press conference at 10:30 Monday morning to explain his position.

That would give him time to have his press conference--and report for practice, too.

Perhaps the only significant development was Epstein’s claim that he had discovered a statute in the California Civil Code--Section 1698--binding an alleged “oral” commitment by Shaw to negotiate a three-year extension of Dickerson’s contract through 1989.

Epstein, speaking from Boston Tuesday, said: “The law commissioners who recommended the adoption of this statute put it into English. They say that ‘the provisions may be applied to permit oral modification, although the written contract expressly provides that modifications must be in writing.’

“And Eric’s contract has a provision that it’s going to be construed according to the laws of California. As far as we’re concerned, he’s got a binding agreement.”

But if the Rams refuse to negotiate an extension, Epstein has said the Rams would be in breach of the current contracts.

“I can’t tell you at this point how we would make that work,” Epstein said, “but it’ll review itself as we go along. The Rams will have to start worrying about this at some point.”

Rodri said Dickerson was in Atlanta on “private business” this week, continuing to lie low.

Robinson said: “I think there’ll be some conversation between now and Sunday.”

Pressed for details, he said: “Well, it won’t be a Geneva.”

Ram Notes The Rams settled one contract problem Tuesday when wide receiver Michael Young, a sixth-round draft choice from UCLA, came to terms. . . . Dickerson was seen in camp briefly Tuesday--Leo Dickerson, Eric’s younger brother, who lives with him in Irvine. . . . The Rams’ rookies and reserves scrimmaged the Chargers’ rookies at Fullerton Tuesday. Robinson said: “The star of the scrimmage was Doug Barnett.” The fourth-year linebacker from Azusa Pacific went both ways, volunteering for guard on offense when the Rams ran out of linemen. They were already planning to double Chris Faulkner at tight end and tackle until Faulkner hurt a shoulder catching a pass in the 7-on-7 (non-contact) passing drill preceding the full-contact session. Charger Doug Jefferson, a free agent from Stephen F. Austin State, was the leading rusher with 45 yards on four attempts. Charles White was 5 for 23 for the Rams, caught two passes for 16 yards but also dropped a couple. “Charlie did some good things,” Robinson said. “He still has some rustiness. He was very nervous--tight as a drum catching passes.” New tight end Tony Hunter caught two passes for 25 yards. . . . Quarterback Scott Tinsley went all the way for the Rams in the live scrimmage as Robinson kept Jeff Kemp, Dieter Brock and Steve Dils out of harm’s way in the non-contact 7-on-7. . . . Starting tackle Bill Bain watched the scrimmage and said he would check into camp today, ahead of schedule. But Robinson said he wouldn’t use Bain in Thursday’s scrimmage with the Dallas Cowboys despite the lack of offensive linemen. “It would be absolutely unforgiveable to hurt a good player in that situation,” the coach said.