Agent Says Dickerson Will Ask Rams for More Than Double His Contract

Eric Dickerson’s new business representative said Tuesday that the Ram running back will ask the team to renegotiate his current contract to bring his salary in line with the top backs in the National Football League.

Charles Chin said Dickerson will request a yearly salary of $1.5 million, more than double his present pay. “It’s going to happen,” Chin said of the request for renegotiation. “Absolutely. I don’t mean two years down the line. I mean this year.”

Chin said Dickerson hired him to be his business manager in July 1986, about two months after Dickerson had fired agent Jack Rodri of the Ken Norton Personal Management Agency Inc. Dickerson recently filed a $12.5-million suit against Rodri, alleging that he mismanaged Dickerson’s finances.

In 1985, Rodri and former heavyweight boxing champion Ken Norton negotiated a three-year extension of Dickerson’s contract through 1989. Dickerson received a $500,000 signing bonus and is scheduled to receive a base salary of $683,000 in each of the next three seasons.

A survey of NFL salaries revealed that Dickerson’s base pay was the 11th-highest in the league in 1986. Dickerson has led the NFL in rushing three times in his four seasons, including last year, when he rushed for 1,821 yards.

Chin said he is not yet a certified player’s agent but would get his license if and when Dickerson is involved in renegotiation. Chin, who formerly worked for Rodri and Norton, said Dickerson would report to training camp, and any renegotiation would start after the season had started.

Dickerson confirmed, through the Rams, that Chin was working for him but referred to him as a “booking agent.” John Shaw, Ram vice president of finance, refused comment on the matter.