THE BIG IF . . . : Stars of the USFL: Look but Don’t Touch--Yet

When the befuddled, battered, beleaguered United States Football League owners gather in New York to discuss the future Monday, those birds circling overhead won’t be doves.

National Football League clubs are ready to pounce on what could produce a bigger bonanza of fresh meat than Tuesday’s annual draft.

Herschel Walker. Steve Young. Doug Flutie. There are others.

The best part is that they would all come in with pro experience. No waiting. This way to the starting lineup.

Some of the players, such as Walker and Flutie and some top veterans, would be free agents in the NFL. Others are tied to NFL teams by previous drafts or tenures.

If the USFL turns belly up, the San Diego Chargers certainly will send flowers. Truckloads.

They stand to get back reserve quarterback Ed Luther, who recently left them for Jacksonville; running back Tim Spencer, wide receiver Trumaine Johnson and two first-round draft choices from the last two years, running back Gary Anderson and cornerback Mossy Cade.

The Rams would welcome back Express linebacker Howard Carson and reserve offensive lineman Russ Bolinger, who went to the Memphis Showboats this month.

The Raiders would get guard James Farr of Orlando.

The Buffalo Bills might resolve their quarterback problem. They still hold NFL rights to all-USFL quarterback Jim Kelly, as well as their former running back, Joe Cribbs. Think they’d be there to shovel dirt on the grave?

The picking and choosing started last June when the NFL conducted a supplemental draft, not to be confused with the supplemental draft in which the Cleveland Browns plan to claim Bernie Kosar later this year. This one went three rounds to allocate USFL players who had no NFL ties, should those players choose to move to the big league or should their own league give up the ghost.

Jeff Dankworth, former UCLA quarterback who is now a sports lawyer, said: “Obviously, it would have been a competitive nightmare for the NFL teams. So (they said) why not make it fair for us all and have a supplemental draft?

“But one of the ideas of players who went to the USFL originally was, ‘The NFL probably won’t waste a draft choice on me now, so I can play in the USFL for two years and then come out as a free agent.’

“That certainly was our thought process with a couple of our clients. Then all of a sudden the NFL had its supplemental draft.”

One of Dankworth’s clients is placekicker Tony Zendejas of the Express. Zendejas was claimed by the Washington Redskins in the supplemental draft. Dankworth and other player agents question the legality, not to mention the arrogance, of the NFL’s action.

“The real question is whether that draft, which was allowed by the NFL Players Assn., was legal,” Dankworth said. “These weren’t players just coming out of college. These were professional football players who had their own union--not members of the NFLPA--(so) the real question is what right did the NFLPA have in negotiating away their rights to the NFL?

“It’s unclear what they (the NFLPA) received in exchange for not opposing the draft.”

What the union received, according to Jack Donlan, executive director of the NFL Management Council, was an agreement that the NFL clubs would hold their active rosters at a minimum of 49 players for one more year instead of reverting to 45, as had been proposed. “An accommodation or a carrot or whatever you want to call it,” Donlan said.

Dankworth is in partnership with lawyer Marvin Demoff, who represents several top pro athletes.

“We came to the conclusion that the supplemental draft probably was illegal and could be challenged on antitrust grounds,” Dankworth said. “I think it could be won, but it didn’t seem feasible for our clients to pursue it. Most of these players are not going to be in a position financially to fight it. Maybe (Express quarterback) Steve Young.”

Young was claimed by Tampa Bay. His lawyer, Leigh Steinberg, said: “If it ever became clear that the USFL was on the verge of collapse and the NFL began to allocate rights to the USFL players, I’m quite confident there would be a series of lawsuits filed, challenging the supplemental draft within a week.

“Steve doesn’t have the intention of filing such a lawsuit, but there are a number of attorneys who do, and I’ve seen the papers.”

A lawyer who represents Express safety Dwight Drane saw it another way. Steve Feldman of Sports Professionals in Santa Ana said that when Drane was taken by the Buffalo Bills, hethought it might be in violation of antitrust laws.

But Feldman, who teaches sports law at Cal State Fullerton, said he has since consulted with labor lawyers who believe the NFL was within its rights.

“The legal advice I have is that they are on solid ground,” Feldman said.

Dankworth also suggested that the NFL players’ association had blundered.

“The NFL could not have gone forward with a supplemental draft without the acquiescence of the NFLPA,” he said. “I think the NFL Players’ Assn. didn’t raise a stink about it (because) they didn’t think about it.

“One of the reasons the NFL salaries were going up so much was the competition with the USFL. It’s to their benefit to have all these guys coming into the league as free agents because they’re all paid based on the true market.”

Some agents have tried to outmaneuver the system by signing their players to short-term USFL contracts that will expire before the next NFL season.

Zendejas, for example, will be a free agent July 15, Dankworth said. Zendejas thus could report to the Redskins for the ’85 season.

Dankworth said: “We did it from Day 1. We anticipated that whether it was two, three or four years that you’d always want to have the alternative of going from a spring league to a fall league and, especially in the case of a kicker, why wait until the following year?”

Walker could do the same, if the USFL collapses before this fall. Because he left the University of Georgia after his sophomore year, this is the first NFL draft he is eligible for, and it’s likely some club will draft him in the high middle rounds on speculation.

He has a long-term personal services contract with Donald Trump, who conceivably could demand some compensation for releasing him.

WAITING IN THE WINGS?

SOME LEADING USFL PLAYERS, WITH THE USFL AND NFL CLUBS, IF ANY, WHICH HOLD THEIR RIGHTS

OFFENSE

Player Pos USFL Team NFL Rights Steve Young QB Express Tampa Bay Jim Kelly QB Houston Buffalo Frank Seurer QB Express Seattle Chuck Fusina QB Baltimore None Bob Hebert QB Oakland None Doug Williams QB Arizona Tampa Bay John Reaves QB Tampa Bay None Walter Lewis QB Memphis New England Ed Luther QB Jacksonville San Diego Anthony Carter WR Oakland Miami Duane Gunn WR Express Pittsburgh Malcolm Moore WR Express Dallas Richard Johnson WR Houston None Trumaine Johnson WR Arizona San Diego Joey Jones WR Birmingham Atlanta Ricky Sanders WR Houston New England Clarence Verdin WR Houston Washington Gordon Hudson TE Express Seattle Dan Ross TE Portland Cincinnati Herschel Walker RB New Jersey None Joe Cribbs RB Birmingham Buffalo Kelvin Bryant RB Baltimore Washington Tim Spencer RB Memphis San Diego Kirby Warren RB Express NY Giants Kevin Nelson RB Express Tampa Bay Mel Gray RB Express Portland Luis Sharpe T Memphis St. Louis Irv Eatman T Baltimore Kansas City Pat Phenix T Birmingham None Gary Zimmerman T Express NY Giants Mark Adickes T Express Kansas City Ray Pinney T Oakland Pittsburgh Derek Kinnard G Express St. Louis James Farr G Orlando Raiders Mike Ruether C Express St. Louis

DEFENSE

Player Pos. USFL Team NFL Rights Dewey Forte E Express Miami John Lee E Arizona None Pete Catan E Houston None Mike Butler E Tampa Bay Green Bay Karl Lorch E Arizona None Dave Tipton T Arizona None James Robinson T Express NY Giants Kit Lathrop T Arizona None Pete Kugler T Baltimore San Fran. Eddie Weaver T Express None Tony Fitzpatrick T Houston None David Howard LB Express Minnesota Kiki DeAyala LB Houston Cincinnati Sam Mills LB Baltimore None Ed Smith LB Arizona None Putt Choate LB San Antonio None Howard Carson LB Express Rams James Harrell LB Tampa Bay Detroit Ray Bentley LB Oakland None John Corker LB Memphis None Herb Spencer LB Birmingham None Peter Raeford CB San Antonio None Garcia Lane CB Baltimore Kansas City David Martin CB Denver None Will Lewis CB Houston None Jerry Holmes CB New Jersey NY Jets Chuck Clanton CB Birmingham Green Bay Dwight Drane S Express Buffalo Allanda Smith S Express Minnesota Marcus Quinn S Tampa Bay None Mike Lush S Baltimore None Mike Guess S Orlando None Kelvin Middleton S Arizona None Tony Zendejas K Express Washington Toni Fritsch K Houston None