Johnson--Too Expensive for Chargers?

SAN DIEGO —  The Arizona Outlaws are asking $1 million for the rights to wide receiver Trumaine Johnson, which may significantly diminish his prospects of playing for the Chargers this year.

Johnson, the top receiver in the United States Football League the last two seasons, left the Outlaws in a contract dispute in January and has not played a down this year. He is at home in Louisiana and says he is prepared to sit out the rest of the USFL season.

The Chargers have been working quietly in the background for several months to explore the possibility of obtaining his rights from the Outlaws.

The Chargers own his National Football League rights and have made no secret of their admiration for the third-year receiver’s skills. He probably would become an immediate starter and rekindle the San Diego air attack.

However, Outlaws President Bill Tatham Jr. said Thursday he would not give up the rights to Johnson for less than $1 million.

“Everything has its price,” Tatham said. “Anything less than $1 million would not be worth it.”

That is bad news for the Chargers.

It is not believed Charger owner Alex Spanos would part with that much money, even for a player of Johnson’s enormous ability.

Although Spanos has been reluctant to publicly discuss his inclinations with respect to Johnson, the feeling exists that the Charger owner probably would be loathe to pay Tatham more than $500,000, at the maximum.

Complicating matters is an antitrust suit filed against the National Football League by the USFL. Both the Chargers and Outlaws are wary about public pronouncements because of the pending litigation.

Johnson said he is basically not interested in returning to Phoenix this year and is prepared to remain on the sidelines for the duration of the season.

His agent, Keith Ponder, was not available for comment. Ponder is believed to have had contact with attorney Marvin Demoff, who reportedly has been hired by the Chargers to see if he can negotiate a deal for the rights to Johnson.

Johnson walked out on the Outlaws when the team refused to give him a salary advance of $200,000 for a down payment on a ranch in Louisiana.

The club has made two offers to Johnson since the beginning of the season, according to an Outlaw spokesman.

“The door remains open for him to come back,” the spokesman said.

However, according to sources in Phoenix, the Outlaws are convinced Johnson has not responded to the team’s revised contractual offers because of contact with the Chargers through Demoff.

The Outlaws would have pro-rated Johnson’s $300,000 salary for the rest of the season and paid him a signing bonus of $66,000 plus incentives for the 10 remaining games, according to a published report.

“I’m basically not interested,” Johnson said. “I know I can play for anybody and I want to play, but I’m prepared to sit out the season. I’ve been working out and trying to stay relaxed. I just hope things will get settled soon.”