Economist Says Few NFL Players Paid Fairly

Joe Montana, Boomer Esiason and a few other NFL players were the only 1990 restricted free agents who received contracts close to their market value, an antitrust expert testified in Minneapolis on Tuesday.

Michael Glassman, a Washington-based economist appearing for the group of eight players in their lawsuit against the NFL, included in that category quarterbacks Montana of San Francisco, Esiason of Cincinnati, Bernie Kosar of Cleveland and Jim Everett of the Rams, and running back Neal Anderson of Chicago.

Glassman also said that Buffalo quarterback Jim Kelly was the only 1989 restricted free agent paid close to what he could have received if he had been free to negotiate with any team. The names surfaced when Glassman explained during cross-examination that he didn’t include those six players in calculating how much money restricted players lost in 1989 and 1990 under the league’s Plan B free-agency system.

Glassman, the final witness for the players, is expected to finish testifying today. NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue is expected to be the first witness for the league when it starts its defense.