Pro Football

An economist hired by practice players suing the NFL said in federal court that their market value was five times the fixed $1,000-per-week salary they were paid during the 1989 season.

Bruce Hamilton of John Hopkins University said the 235 players in the class-action suit should have been able to negotiate midseason contracts that year averaging $5,189 per week.

The players are seeking about $10 million in damages from the league for setting the $1,000 salary for members of six-man developmental, or practice, squads.