XFL Trying to Lure Prospects

The signing last week of Joe Hamilton, the Georgia Tech quarterback drafted in the seventh round by Tampa Bay, got little notice. Like all rookies drafted in the late rounds, he got the $193,000 minimum first-year salary. He also got a $33,000 signing bonus.

According to Vito Stellino of the Baltimore Sun, what was significant about the signing was that he was the first player to say no to the new XFL.

The new league tried to convince him that he was better off getting playing time in the new league for $50,000 plus incentives than sit on the bench as the Buccaneers’ third-string quarterback.

Mike Keller, the XFL’s football head, will sell prospects on the idea of the league’s “Open Door” policy. They can play in the XFL starting in February, get experience, and then try to make the NFL next fall.

The fact that NBC started running promos for the new league during the baseball All-Star Game shows the league is going to get a lot of marketing. And nobody knows marketing like the World Wrestling Federation’s Vince McMahon, who turned wrestling into a popular attraction.

McMahon says, though, that unlike the WWF, the XFL will be real.

“The two are separate. The WWF is like attending a real-life play every week. We make no bones about that. But the XFL is going to be unpredictable, exciting and entertaining,” he said.

He also likes to tweak the NFL for its off-the-field problems.

“The XFL’s code of conduct is simple. You break the law, I’ll fire your butt. There’ll be no convicted felons in the XFL,” he said.

McMahon’s rhetoric may obscure the fact the new league is a U.S. version of NFL Europe with better marketing.

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The portrayal of Baltimore Raven rookie wide receiver Travis Taylor going on a spending spree on new vehicles, clothes and a diamond-studded watch on the ESPN show “Outside the Lines,” even before he signed his contract, seemed to fit the stereotype of a young player tossing money around as if he had an endless supply.

But his agent, Steve Weinberg, said the piece was misleading.

He said ESPN pitched it to him as a story on how a player drafted in the first round is like a lottery winner. Taylor, the 10th overall selection from Florida, will get at least a $4-million signing bonus. Weinberg said 16 hours of filming included Taylor at the Preakness and interviews with financial planners. But only the spending made the show.

Weinberg, agent for six Ravens, said the reality is that Taylor won’t be reckless with his money and will have an investment plan.

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Quarterback Vinny Testaverde appears to have recovered from a torn Achilles’ tendon, but the New York media has been predicting doom and gloom for the Jets this season. That prompted Jet Coach Al Groh to say: “We’ve lost a legend [Bill Parcells], a genius [Bill Belichick], and a star [Keyshawn Johnson]. I don’t know if we have a chance. All I know is what I read.”

The Jets, meanwhile, signed free-agent defensive end Anthony Cook, who played for the Washington Redskins last season and started seven games.

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The Detroit Lions have signed massive offensive tackle Stockar McDougle, their first-round draft pick, to a five-year deal.

McDougle, from Oklahoma, is 6 feet 6 and weighs 350 pounds. He was the 20th overall pick.

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The San Francisco 49ers signed cornerback Ahmed Plummer, one of the team’s two first-round draft picks, to a seven-year contract.

Plummer, from Ohio State, was the 49ers’ second first-round selection, 24th overall. Linebacker Julian Peterson, the 16th overall pick out of Michigan State, remains unsigned.

San Francisco also signed three other draft picks--safety John Keith, defensive lineman John Milen and quarterback Tim Rattay--to three-year contracts. Rattay, a seventh-round selection out of Louisiana Tech, was second to Brigham Young’s Ty Detmer, a former 49er quarterback, in Division I-A yards (12,746) and touchdowns (115) passing.

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The Philadelphia Eagles agreed to terms on a five-year contract with wide receiver Todd Pinkston, the first of their two second-round picks. Pinkston, from Southern Mississippi, was the 36th overall pick.