THE SIDELINES : Vikings Sign Browner for 3 Yrs.

Minnesota Vikings strong safety Joey Browner has signed three one-year contracts averaging more than $900,000 a year, according to a published report today.

Vikings General Manager Mike Lynn confirmed that Browner has signed, but he would not disclose contract terms. The Star Tribune, quoting an unidentified source, said Browner signed for $850,000 for 1990, $850,000 for 1991 and $1 million for 1992.

The contract also includes a signing bonus but the amount was not known, the newspaper said. The contract would make Browner, who has played in the last five Pro Bowls, the highest-paid safety in the NFL, the newspaper said.

Browner had been upset for two years about his old contract, which paid him $350,000 last season. He tried to renegotiate last summer and repeatedly requested a trade.