Event Date: February 24th, 1983
Event Description: Generals Sign Herschel
Source: United Press International
Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker has signed a three-year, multi-million contract with the New Jersey Generals that will make him the highest paid player in the history of professional football, his attorney said Wednesday.
The spectacular University of Georgia star signed with the Generals of the the fledgling U.S. Football League after discovering he had lost his amateur status by earlier signing a tentative contract with the club.
Walker's agent and attorney, Jack Manton, said Walker received his first year's salary in cash and in advance and that the entire package is “totally guaranteed”.
Terms of the contract were not disclosed but earlier reports had the Generals offering Walker as much as $16.5 million for five years. According to the report, Walker was to receive $2.5 million a year.
Manton issued a brief statement from Walker in which the three-time All-America running back said he made a mistake in denying earlier he had signed a contract with the Generals. Walker, 20, met last Thursday with Generals owner J. Walker Duncan but announced the next day he was sticking to his previously announced decision to complete his eligibility at Georgia before turning pro.
Although he insisted last Friday he had not signed a contract with the Generals, a statement from the University of Georgia Wednesday said “new information” presented Tuesday to Dooley made it "apparent'" that Walker “has engaged in actions which would cause him to be ineligible according to NCAA regulations.”
USFL Commissioner Chet Simmons said Walker approached the USFL in early January, indicating a desire to play for the new league. Simmons said because Walker was an undergraduate and not involved in the draft, he decided to allow him to negotiate with the league.
“Sure, we could have said no,” said Simmons. “We had to make a tough decision and I made it with all good conscience.” Simmons said Walker had approached the NFL last year, as well as the Canadian Football League in the past, and said “there was never a backoff” by Walker's advisors. Asked why he allowed the Generals to have the rights to Walker, Simmons said: “One of the conditions was he wanted to play in the New York metropolitan area. It was a special circumstance.”
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