Pro Football

A federal judge in Los Angeles said the trial of the free agency suit against the NFL filed by Marcus Allen and Gill Byrd will not begin until June 1 at the earliest. Jim Quinn, a lawyer for the NFL Players Assn., said that because players won the Freeman McNeil verdict earlier this year, a trial was needed only on the amount of damages, not on the facts. The case will be heard by Judge Consuelo Marshall.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the judge may hold a trial on whether the league had violated antitrust law in the treatment of the two players.

“There are still other options,” Aiello said. “It depends how she rules on their motion that the case be tried only on damages, not liability.”

Allen became a free agent after the 1990 and 1991 seasons and re-signed with the Raiders both times. Byrd left the San Diego Chargers and became a free agent after the 1990 season. He still plays for the Chargers.

The suit was filed in August of 1991, and the players are asking for treble damages under antitrust law.

Last September, a federal jury in Minneapolis awarded four players $543,000--trebled to $1,629,000--in the McNeil case for the NFL’s antitrust violations in imposing Plan B on free agents.