Agent: Baseball Owners Agree to Pay $280 Million

Baseball owners have agreed to pay players $280 million to settle the collusion cases, a player agent said Saturday. But the head of management’s labor wing and a union lawyer denied a settlement had been reached.

Richard Moss, the former general counsel for the union who represents several dozen players, said Saturday that clubs had agreed to the payment as compensation for their conspiracy against free agents after the 1985, 1986 and 1987 seasons.

In addition, Moss said 16 players--a group that includes Jack Clark, Jack Morris, Dave Smith and Gary Gaetti--would be be granted new-look free agency as part of a settlement.

Chuck O’Connor, head of management’s Player Relations Committee, would not discuss numbers or the new-look free agency, but said discussions had intensified although a deal had not been agreed to.

Stephen Fehr, a union lawyer and brother of union head Donald Fehr, said “it appears now that there is the possibility of a settlement” but said “it will probably be at least a month” until it could be finalized.

A $280-million payment would amount to $10,769,230 for each of the 26 clubs, by far the largest payment made by teams to players in the history of sports.

The collusion cases were filed by the union after teams departed from past practice and in October 1985 began shunning free agents. Arbitrator Thomas Roberts found the owners guilty of collusion following the 1985 season and arbitrator George Nicolau found them guilty after the 1986 and 1987 seasons.