Saturday, September 11, 1999

Pickens agrees to 5-year deal

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$23M ranks 2nd for NFL receivers

BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Carl Pickens works out with the team during a short practice Friday. (AP photo) ZOOM

        The Bengals agreed to a five-year, $23.25 million deal with Carl Pickens on Friday, making him the second-highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL behind Green Bay's Antonio Freeman.

        Pickens, who resumed practicing with the Bengals on Friday, is expected to sign the deal averaging $4.65 million annually this morning before leaving with the club for Sunday's opener in Tennessee. With salary and bonus, Pickens, the Bengals' all-time leading receiver, will take home $8 million this season.

        The signing ends a stunning saga that began Wednesday night, when Pickens and his agent flew to Cincinnati to meet Bengals President Mike Brown in an effort to end his holdout after months of no negotiating.

        Even as agent Steve Zucker and his client drove to the club's offices from Pickens' home for the Thursday morning meeting, Pickens still wasn't sure he wanted to return to a team that hasn't had a winning season in his seven-year career.

        “The Bengals really stepped up,” Zucker said. “Mike told him, "Carl, you deserve this.' We spent all night Wednesday talking and we went over the whole thing. I began to sense he might want to stay if it was right. He seemed comfortable being back at his house. ... Then the negotiations started to go real fast.”

        Brown declined to comment.

       

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