Favre Is Shown His Worth as Highest Paid in League

On the day he became the NFL’s highest-paid player, Brett Favre skipped the Green Bay Packers’ morning practice because of a stomachache. By noon, he was feeling well enough to play a round of golf--though not very well.

“Maybe I can afford some lessons now,” Favre said Friday.

He certainly can, especially after signing a seven-year contract extension reportedly worth between $42 million and $48 million, including a $12-million signing bonus.

General Manager Ron Wolf says the contract makes the 27-year-old quarterback “the highest-paid player in the history of professional football.” But the Super Bowl champion Packers and Favre’s agent, James “Bus” Cook, would not give financial details and comparing the worth of NFL contracts is difficult because of their complexity.

Favre’s deal comes days after Detroit’s Barry Sanders signed a reported six-year, $34-million contract.

“I’ve proven over the last couple of years that I have been the best player in the league,” said Favre, a two-time most valuable player. “This just shows me that the Packers and Ron felt the same way.”

Favre’s new deal is reportedly worth between $6 million and $6.8 million a year, replacing the last two years of the five-year, $19-million contract he signed in 1994.

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Don Shula, Mike Webster, Mike Haynes and Wellington Mara took different paths to their success in the NFL. Today, they enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, together.

Shula, who won 347 games with the Baltimore Colts and Miami Dolphins, grew up 50 miles north of Canton.

“A short trip, and it took a long time,” he said.

Shula, a winner of two Super Bowls in six tries, will be presented by his sons, former Cincinnati Bengal coach Dave, and current Tampa Bay Buccaneer offensive coordinator Mike.

Webster was the center on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ dominant teams of the 1970s and ‘80s. Webster spent 15 seasons with the Steelers, and was at the heart of their four Super Bowl victories before closing out his career with two years with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Haynes, at 6 feet 2 and 195 pounds with sprinter speed, was taller and faster than most of the receivers he covered at cornerback. In seven seasons with the New England Patriots and seven more with the Los Angeles Raiders, Haynes had 46 interceptions.

Mara’s induction will mark the first time a son has followed his father into the hall. Timothy J. Mara, founder of the Giants in 1925, was a charter member in 1963.

He was an integral part in making the Giants a dominant team in the 1950s with stars such as Y.A. Tittle, Andy Robustelli and Frank Gifford, who will present Mara for induction. He was in charge when the Giants won Super Bowls in 1987 and 1991 with Lawrence Taylor starring on defense.

Around the Training Camps

After 11 seasons as one of the NFL’s most dominant pass rushers, five-time Pro Bowler Pat Swilling left the Oakland Raiders’ training camp--perhaps for good. Swilling, who has 105 1/2 career sacks for New Orleans, Detroit and Oakland, left after spending most of Thursday afternoon’s practice on the sideline talking with Raider owner Al Davis. He didn’t attend Friday’s practice.

The St. Louis Rams have offered No. 1 overall draft pick Orlando Pace a seven-year contract worth $23.1 million, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. No. 2 overall pick Darrell Russell three days ago signed a $22.05-million deal with the Raiders. . . . Wide receiver Kevin Lockett, the Kansas City Chiefs’ second-round draft pick, has agreed to terms on a three-year contract. The Chiefs reportedly are close to a deal with their No. 1 pick, former California tight end Tony Gonzalez, and it was possible he could be in camp by this weekend.

Defensive end Simeon Rice returned to the Arizona Cardinals 15 pounds under his 260 playing weight and lacking his characteristic zip after a bout with a viral infection compounded by altitude sickness. . . . Rookie defensive end Brent Burnstein left the Tennessee Oilers’ training camp in Nashville rather than let the veterans cut his shoulder-length hair.

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Biggest Paychecks

Highest average yearly salaries in the NFL:

1. Troy Aikman, Cowboys: $6.25 million

2. Brett Favre, Packers: $6 million

2. Drew Bledsoe, Patriots: $6 million

2. Emmitt Smith, Cowboys: $6 million

5. Barry Sanders, Lions: $5.7 million