Corey Dillon is changing agents. That much is certain. Why is another matter.

        On Wednesday, David Levine and James Sims said they had negotiated — and Dillon had rejected — an eight-year, $60 million deal with the Bengals that would have made Dillon the NFL's highest-paid running back. The deal included a $12 million signing bonus. Dillon, Levine said, wouldn't consider an offer without a $15 million bonus.

        But Dillon reportedly said early Thursday that he only learned about the deal while watching ESPN at his mother's Seattle home Wednesday night.

        “He looked at me, and the first thing he said was, "Nobody has talked to me,'” said his mother, Jerline Dillon. “That's how he found out about it. He said if he saw some figures like that, he would be going to the table to talk to them.

        “He was upset. I could see it in his face.”

        On Thursday, Dillon fired Levine and Sims.

        But a source close to the situation told the Enquirer that Dillon really fired the agents because he wants to test free agency instead of accepting the $60 million deal they recommended.

        Repeated efforts Thursday to reach Dillon at his mother's home were unsuccessful. Levine and Sims declined comment Thursday.

        Dillon has hired a new agent, but neither he nor people close to him will disclose the name. A call to Los Angeles-based Marvin Demoff, the agent Dillon fired in November to hire Levine and Sims, was not returned.

        Demoff was Dillon's agent when he missed 20 days of training camp in a contract dispute before signing a one-year, $3 million deal.

        Dillon hired Levine and Sims in early November after rushing for 415 yards in consecutive Bengals victories against Denver and Cleveland. Dillon had changed his mind and wanted to stay with the Bengals, the source said, and Dillon knew Levine and Sims had nine other clients with the Bengals and a constructive relationship with the Brown family.

        Dillon becomes a free agent March 2, but Bengals president Mike Brown has said the team will use the transition tag that allows it to match any offer Dillon would receive.

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