Lachey’s Agent Requests a Trade : Contract Negotiations With Chargers Reach an Impasse

The Chargers were faced with the prospect of losing their third No. 1 draft choice in three years Wednesday when the agent for offensive tackle Jim Lachey declared negotiations had reached an impasse and said he was close to requesting a trade.

The failure to come to terms with Lachey would be a major setback to the Chargers’ aging offensive line, and would compound the lingering embarrassment of the loss of first-round picks Gary Anderson and Mossy Cade, who signed with teams in the United States Football League in 1983 and 1984, respectively.

With these considerations in mind, John Sanders, Charger general manager, vowed Lachey would play here or not at all, and suggested that further threats would be of no avail.

Thus, the negotiations, which had barely been simmering, burst into white heat.

“The Chargers seem determined to have a long holdout,” said Leigh Steinberg, Lachey’s representative. “It is totally unacceptable and destructive to Jim’s career for him to remain out of camp and unsigned.

“At some point--and we are getting near it--we would ask for a trade if the Chargers aren’t willing to compensate Jim.”

Sanders did not take kindly to being threatened with the loss of still another top draft choice.

“Leigh Steinberg is a man of high integrity,” Sanders said, “but I want to make it clear we are not going to consider trading Jim Lachey.

“He’ll either play here or he can go back home and return to school. I can’t see Alex Spanos being threatened or blackmailed.”

Spanos, the Charger owner, said he was very disappointed in Steinberg’s remarks and he concurred with what his general manager had said.

Steinberg and Sanders tangled earlier this year over reserve quarterback Ed Luther, who wound up signing a four-year, $2.4 million contract with Jacksonville of the USFL.

Lachey (6-6, 290) is seeking a four- or five-year contract worth more than $400,000 annually. Projected as a starter at offensive tackle, Lachey, the 12th pick in this year’s draft, left town Wednesday and planned to spend a day with Steinberg before returning to his home in Columbus, Ohio.

He had participated in a week-long orientation program for rookies and free agents and had remained at a Mission Valley hotel until Steinberg gave him the cue to depart.

Steinberg’s frustrations escalated in the wake of the Tuesday signing of Bill Fralic by Atlanta. Fralic, the first of five offensive linemen among the top dozen picks, signed a four-year deal valued at $2.5 million.

Steinberg’s position is that Lachey’s value lies between Fralic and Derrick Burroughs, the 14th player drafted, who received a four-year, $1.7 million contract.

Sanders countered by saying the Chargers have made Lachey “a very fair offer. The first two or three draft picks always are in an area that is higher than the others.

“I’m not sure what Leigh is up to, but I know that he represents three other first-rounders, and he may be waiting to see what the others get before he signs Jim Lachey.”

Coach Don Coryell said that Lachey’s absence “is a great setback that hurts him and hurts the team.”

Also unsigned is defensive back Jeff Dale, a second-round selection. “He could lose his chance of getting a starting job if he doesn’t get here,” Coryell said. “There are other players here, and they are pretty damn good guys.”

Lachey had hoped his participation in last week’s training program would be viewed as evidence he badly wants to play for the Chargers, according to Steinberg.

But that hope was discarded when the Chargers made a new contract proposal Tuesday that was only slightly better than their standing offer, the agent said.

“We are extremely frustrated,” Steinberg said. “We feel it’s very destructive for Jim’s career for him to be out of camp.

“But the only rational way to pay a player is on the basis of comparative figures, and we believe the Burroughs signing represents a floor . . . we’re only asking for something a little in excess of what Burroughs received.”

Steinberg said he would prefer a four-year contract, but would settle for a five-year deal if the money was right.

Steinberg said he has never held a player out of training camp in his 10 years as an agent, and he is philosophically opposed to doing it now.

“But it’s crystal clear that the Chargers don’t intend to compensate Jim Lachey with fair market value,” Steinberg said.

“He came to camp early and he has been completely cooperative, but it’s as if the Charger front office has just forgotten him. In essence, the Chargers are saying to us, ‘We lost Anderson and Cade and we’re prepared to lose Lachey.”’

If he decides not to request a trade, or if that tactic fails, Steinberg said he may bring in another attorney who has experience in handling prolonged holdouts.

Steinberg would not cease to represent Lachey, but might step aside temporarily if another representative is brought in.

“I have represented more than 20 first-rounders and 100 draft picks, so I know how to get players signed,” Steinberg said. “But maybe it would help Jim to also work with someone who is experienced at a prolonged holdout.”