PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE NFL : Tagliabue Voids Mirer’s Contract

NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue voided the contract between quarterback Rick Mirer and the Seattle Seahawks on Friday, calling it “a sham” that violates the league’s new labor agreement.

In an uncharacteristically strong statement, Tagliabue said the contract between the Seahawks and the former Notre Dame quarterback, the second pick in April’s draft, was designed to circumvent the salary cap for rookies with incentives it was impossible not to reach.

The contract was designed to pay Mirer $7.7 million over three years or $15.7 million over five, depending on whether Mirer exercised an option to terminate it.

In addition, Mirer need only achieve one of more than two dozen performance benchmarks to earn a $3-million incentive payment this season. Those include the Seahawks winning more than three games--they went 2-14 in 1992--and the team ranking higher than 28th on offense. There are only 28 teams in the league.

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Clock operator Clint Miller, 60, who had worked New York Jet games since 1965, died of a heart attack during the Philadelphia Eagle-Jet exhibition at the Meadowlands on Friday night. Miller’s son Corey was working on the sideline chain crew.