PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE NFL : Smith Reportedly Asked for a Trade

Running back Emmitt Smith has told the Dallas Cowboys to trade him to a team that would provide a contract worth $4 million per season, according to a report published Saturday.

Sources told the Dallas Morning News that Smith made the comment within the last two days as his negotiations with the team appeared to reach an impasse.

But Cowboy owner Jerry Jones flatly ruled out any possible trade.

“Totally out of the question,” he told the newspaper.

Jones declined to comment on whether Smith advised his agent, Richard Howell, to pursue any trade potential.

The Cowboys’ current offer of about $10 million over four years would put Smith in the top 25 or 30 players, Howell said.

*

Rodney Hampton signed a three-year contract worth a reported $6.9 million with the New York Giants, making him the NFL’s second highest-paid running back.

Hampton, who rushed for 1,141 yards and 14 touchdowns and was named to the Pro Bowl last season, had been scheduled to earn $450,000 this year. Thurman Thomas of the Buffalo Bills, who recently signed a deal worth $3.3 million a year, is the NFL’s highest-paid running back.

*

Defensive end Neil Smith ended his holdout, signing a series of one-year contracts in time to join the Kansas City Chiefs for their opener at Tampa Bay.

Smith, the Chiefs’ designated franchise player this season, will be paid at least $1.7 million under the NFL’s new collective-bargaining agreement.