Chargers, 2 Picks Seen Near Accord : FitzPatrick, Unrein May Make Camp, but Walker Talks Stalled

While owner Alex Spanos grows more impatient by the day, the Chargers are pressing to sign two of their high draft choices before the start of training camp next Friday.

If they succeed, they will be ahead of much of the competition in the National Football League. Only three of the top 83 players--and 36 out of a total of 333--in this year’s draft have signed.

There are indications that the Chargers soon may come to terms with offensive lineman James FitzPatrick, a first-round pick, and defensive lineman Terry Unrein, a third-rounder.

However, a stalemate that has existed with offensive lineman Jeff Walker since he missed mini-camp in late May remains nowhere close to being resolved. Defensive lineman Leslie O’Neal, the first of San Diego’s two first-round choices, may sign before Walker, a third-round pick.

With the approach of training camp, Spanos is pushing to get all his draftees signed and is making gruff noises about how he’ll treat absentees.

“Let’s just say I’m going to be real angry and real hard (on them) if they aren’t there,” Spanos said.

The Chargers--like most teams--are seeking to get their rookies under contract for 10% less than the class of 1985.

There is concern throughout the NFL about how the bottom line will be affected by three issues--the anti-trust lawsuit filed by the United States Football League, the end of television contracts with CBS, NBC and ABC, and the expiration of the collective-bargaining agreement.

It’s too early to predict whether the NFL will succeed in rolling back salaries on a broad basis, according to FitzPatrick’s agent, Leigh Steinberg.

Only one player in each of the first three rounds has signed as yet, and each received money comparable to what a player drafted in a similar position got last year.

For example, Tampa Bay signed its first-round pick, Rod Jones, to a four-year deal worth $1.14 million, which compares favorably to the four-year, $1.175-million contract received last year by the 25th selection of the first round, Emanuel King.

The Chargers have signed two players, both defensive backs, Mike Zordich, a ninth rounder, and Jeff Sprowls, a 12th-round selection. Their signings have little, if any, relevance to the business of getting players such as O’Neal and FitzPatrick under contract.

“Mr. Spanos expects his players to be here,” assistant head coach Al Saunders said. “He’d be disappointed and upset if they’re not. . . . But I think we’re going to see an effort to bring salaries in line with common sense.”

The Chargers appear to be close to an agreement with FitzPatrick.

“We are close enough that I expect it go smoothly the rest of the way, and I’m optimistic we’ll be in camp on time,” said Steinberg, who last year represented another Charger first-round offensive lineman, Jim Lachey.

After a short holdout, Lachey signed a five-year deal worth $1.9 million.

If there is a delay in signing FitzPatrick, it could be to see how much the Chargers will award O’Neal, Steinberg said.

“Unlike the old days, when nobody really had the facts, the accessibility of information in today’s world impedes rapid negotiation,” Steinberg said. “No team wants to be perceived as overpaying, and agents get timid about signing for too little.”

San Diego General Manager John Sanders said he will talk this weekend with O’Neal’s agent, Marvin Demoff.

“We already have discussed things in generalities and know how each other is thinking,” Sanders said. “I think both of our first-round players want to be here when training camp starts, and if we get real close, the players might put a little pressure on their agents.”

The outlook on third-rounders Unrein and Walker is mixed.

Jim Steiner, who is Unrein’s agent, said he has been negotiating fervently with Sanders in recent days.

“I hope to have it done before camp,” he said, “but I won’t sacrifice the quality of the contract just so Terry can make the reporting date.”

In Walker’s case, there has been no progress.

“I won’t say things have broken off, but they’re moving very slowly,” said agent Joe Courege, who’s hoping to get an offer from the Memphis Showboats of the USFL.

“We’ll wait as long as we have to,” he said. “If others start jumping ship, and the price falls, we’ll come in. Right now, though, the money just isn’t right.”

Courege declined to specify the Chargers’ offer but said that the signing bonus offered Walker was at least $100,000 less than the $250,000 bonus awarded a third-round draft choice last year.

Steiner, who represents seven players from this year’s draft, said they have received offers ranging from 5% to 40% less than what players in comparable positions received a year ago.

“I think it’s just a matter of the NFL owners having leverage now and deciding to wield it,” Steiner said. “They’re the only game in town.”

Steinberg offered a more complex view of the factors causing owners to attempt to cut rookie salaries.

“I think what we are seeing is a precursor to the battle over the collective-bargaining agreement next year,” he said. “This is like the Spanish Civil War compared to World War II.”

Steinberg said he believes that the NFL Players Assn. will make a concerted push for free agency in 1987 and said there’s a high probability of a strike. Free agency for players would have an explosive effect on salaries, which might lead some agents this year to seek short-term contracts, while owners might try to tie up players for as long as possible.

Steinberg also said there is trepidation over the expiration of pro football’s contracts with the three major TV networks. Even though ratings rose in 1985, network executives are threatening to reduce the size of the next package.

“With all these factors in the mix, it creates an uncertain signing market,” Steinberg said. “Last year at this time, 100 players, or about 36% of the drafted players, had signed, compared to 36 players now. There is no market established yet this year, and there has been very little (league-wide) in the way of substantive talks in the high rounds. There’s no reason it couldn’t have been done in May.”