Report Has Sanders Retiring as Agents Fail to Dissuade Him

Barry Sanders, apparently fed up with the Detroit Lions’ mediocre record and Coach Bobby Ross, will retire from the NFL, his agent told ESPN on Tuesday night.

David Ware, one of the two agents who handled the running back’s affairs, said Sanders would issue a statement today announcing his retirement and wouldn’t be available for comment.

According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, Sanders told Ware and his other agent, Lamont Smith, of his retirement plans on Monday. The agents were unable to dissuade him, even with the argument that he’s only 1,457 yards shy of the NFL career rushing record.

ESPN said Sanders would cite his “desire to leave the game . . . as greater than his desire to play.”

The Lions wouldn’t confirm or deny the report.

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Cade McNown is in Southern California, his agent isn’t budging and the Chicago Bears are still sweating through two-a-days in Platteville, Wis., without a No. 1 quarterback.

“We’re just trying to decide what our next move should be since they made no move off their original offer,” said Jim Miller, the Bears’ director of business operations.

McNown’s agent, Tom Condon, is seeking a seven-year contract that voids after three years, with the Bears able to buy back the fourth through sixth years with another signing bonus.

The Bears have offered McNown, the 12th overall pick, a six-year deal that could void to five years. With a $5 million signing bonus, the total package was worth just under $10.2 million.

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New York Jet offensive lineman Jumbo Elliott and former Jet Matt O’Dwyer, now with the Cincinnati Bengals, are being sued for $6.3 million because of a barroom brawl earlier this month.

Three police officers and two bar patrons are suing, saying they were injured.

“These people are accustomed to using their brute strength for football,” attorney Lawrence Elovich said of the players in Mineola, N.Y. “When they misbehave on the field they get a penalty. This time, it’s going to cost them a lot more.”

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Assertions by Donovan McNabb’s agent that race may be playing a role in contract negotiations with the Philadelphia Eagles are “absurd,” Eagle Coach Andy Reid said.

Reid was addressing a broadcast interview with agent Fletcher Smith that aired Tuesday in Philadelphia.

Smith said the Eagles were reluctant to give McNabb a contract without voidable years because he is black.

The Eagles and McNabb, the second pick in the NFL draft, are thought to be discussing details of a $50 million, seven-year contract.

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The St. Louis Rams increased their contract offer to holdout running back Marshall Faulk to more than $40 million over seven years.

Faulk’s agent, Rocky Arceneaux, and Ram vice president Jay Zygmunt met for about three hours Monday in St. Louis. Ram Coach Dick Vermeil said the sides are close, but that “it’s still rocky.”

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Jevon Kearse, the Tennessee Titans’ top draft pick, kept to his plan to start training camp with the team when he and his new agent, Leigh Steinberg, agreed to a five-year, $6.1-million contract.

The contract includes a $3.85- million signing bonus.

Kearse fired his first agent, William “Tank” Black last spring after he was accused by the NFL Players Assn. of providing cars and money to former Florida players, including Kearse.

Meanwhile, the NFLPA proposed to strip Black’s license for three years after determining his company made improper cash payments to college players.

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Upset after watching footage of gimpy quarterback Brad Johnson on the evening news, Washington Redskin Coach Norv Turner banned TV cameras from Tuesday’s training camp practice in Frostburg, Md.

Turner said he would reevaluate his camera ban today. Johnson had knee surgery May 5.

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The Dallas Cowboys signed top draft pick Ebenezer Ekuban to a five-year, $5.65-million contract and the defensive lineman reported to camp.