Commissioner Pete Rozelle of the National Football...

Commissioner Pete Rozelle of the National Football League told owners that 97 players, 6% of the league’s 1,600, tested positive for steroids during pre-camp physicals in 1987, according to Mike Lynn, general manager of the Minnesota Vikings.

Lynn said that Rozelle didn’t release any results, but talked about them in general.

Tests of 2,500 players who were in training camps this summer still are being analyzed, but Lynn said that early results show steroid use to be down and that the results of the 1988 tests may never be released.

The 1987 tests were the first steroid tests administered by the NFL.

“I think it shows that the people who thought half the league was on steroids are wrong,” Lynn said. “The public perception was that it was a major problem in the NFL.

“That percentage is way low, and within a few years no one will be using steroids. In a few years, this league will rid itself of steroids by its players.”