PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE NFL : Tagliabue Presents a New Labor Plan

NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue Tuesday met in Denver with a group of NFL owners to brief them on the league’s proposed labor offer to its players--a plan that, if approved, would radically change the operation of professional football, according to a report today in Newsday. The proposal includes some form of free agency and a guaranteed percentage of designated gross revenues.

The league’s proposal, Newsday learned, provides for a two-tiered system of free agency. Unrestricted free agency would be granted for any six-year player who hasn’t received a contract offer of at least $1 million per year, and a limited free-agency plan would cover some three-year players. The plan is patterned closely after the NBA’s agreement.

The proposal was submitted to lawyers representing players in an antitrust litigation against the league about a month ago, with the understanding that details were to be negotiated. The lawyers have not responded to the plan.

The league’s plan, according to sources, also includes a salary cap, estimated at $28 million to $30 million per team, a rookie wage and bonus scale and an increased benefits package.

Al Del Greco, an eight-year NFL kicker who last played for the Phoenix Cardinals, signed a two-year contract with the Houston Oilers, replacing Ian Howfield, who missed a 33-yard field goal with one second left in the Oilers’ 16-13 overtime loss to Washington Sunday. Howfield was cut Monday.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers waived both quarterback Chris Chandler, who cost the team its top pick in next year’s draft, and cornerback Wayne Haddix, Tampa Bay’s only Pro Bowl selection last season.

The Buccaneers will move Jeff Carlson up to second-string quarterback.