Federal jurors in Chicago decided to recess...

Federal jurors in Chicago decided to recess for the weekend before resuming deliberations in the case of sports agents Norby Walters and Lloyd Bloom, accused of signing college athletes to contracts before their eligibility had expired.

The 12-member U.S. District Court panel received the case at noon Thursday after nearly five weeks of testimony, but finished deliberating for the day about four hours later.

Jurors went for a full day Friday, again without reaching a verdict, and then voted to resume deliberations Monday.

Walters, 58, and Bloom, 29, are charged with multiple counts of racketeering, mail fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. If convicted, they could face prison terms of more than 20 years and thousands of dollars in fines.

The government charges the New York-based sports agents signed more than 40 college athletes to professional representation contracts, then post-dated the agreements to keep the players eligible and conceal violations of National Collegiate Athletic Assn. rules.