Bruce Matthews Sues Oilers: $10 Million : Ex-Trojan Also Names NFL in Antitrust Action to Become Free Agent

Former USC lineman Bruce Matthews, who has played for the Houston Oilers since they drafted him No. 1 in 1983, sued the club and the National Football League for $10 million Thursday.

At the same time, Matthews, a holdout this season, fired the first bullet in what could be a new players’ war against the league by asking the U.S. District Court here to declare him a free agent.

The former Trojan All-American, who ranks as one of the league’s leading offensive linemen: --Alleged that the league and the Oilers have conspired, in violation of antitrust law, to prevent him from negotiating or signing with other NFL teams.

--Said that he completed the last of four one-year contracts with the Oilers last season and that the document doesn’t contain an option clause.

This makes him legally a free agent, he said, because, federal courts have ruled NFL stipulations against free agency are only valid when a player-owner bargaining agreement is in force. The latest agreement expired this summer.

--Said he has been unable to agree with the Oilers on new contract terms.

--Said that the Raiders, Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks are all interested in Matthews but have refused to negotiate with him or his agent, Howard Slusher, “on instructions from the NFL and/or the Oilers.”

Gary Schlessinger, Matthews’ lawyer, and Slusher are affiliated with a Beverly Hills law firm, Rosenfeld, Meyer and Susman, where attorney Kirk Alman said: “One team has (mentioned) a dollar figure substantially higher than (Matthews’) last offer.”

So Matthews is hopeful, he said, that he can move to another team shortly if the court grants a temporary order restraining the league and the Oilers from interfering in his negotiating processes. The 10-day restraining order could be followed by a preliminary injunction that would span the duration of the lawsuit, the law firm said.

Matthews, 26, is believed to be the only NFL player in his exact circumstances at this time--unsigned, unbound by option or other clauses, and ready to move in the void created by the end of the bargaining agreement.

But in Washington, a spokesman for the NFL Players Assn. said that “quite a few other” pros will be free to move after the season. The association is checking on the exact number.

The union position since last spring, as expressed by Executive Director Gene Upshaw, is: “We’ve got free agency if there isn’t a bargaining agreement.”

Matthews’ challenge follows a similar lawsuit filed this month by a Houston draft choice, fullback Alonzo Highsmith of the University of Miami. After taking the Oilers to court, Highsmith signed with them Tuesday.

Matthews earned $260,000 last season. He has reportedly been asking for annual sums in the $400,000 neighborhood.