Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 4, 1991 TAG: 9104040311
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SARASOTA, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
Bo Jackson, promising to return from a hip injury that threatens his two-sport career, signed a free-agent contract Wednesday with the Chicago White Sox.
The one-year deal with club options for 1992 and 1993 could be worth as little as $700,000 or as much as $8.15 million over three years plus award bonuses.
"Right now, I feel like a caged animal," Jackson, 28, said at a news conference, a White Sox cap atop his head and a White Sox jersey slung across his shoulder.
"I can't wait for them to open the chutes and let me go and do what I've been doing my whole life, and that's running," he said.
The one-year contract with options for 1992 and 1993 pays Jackson even if he doesn't play this season, which it appears he won't.
"Realistically, we don't expect him until 1992," general manager Ron Schueler said.
Jackson, the only athlete of his generation who has successfully paired All-Star careers in baseball and the NFL, injured his left hip while being tackled from behind in a Los Angeles Raiders-Cincinnati Bengals playoff game on Jan. 13
He has been on crutches since and, after being waived by the Kansas City Royals last month, was said to have avascular necrosis, the partial loss of blood supply to the ball in the ball-and-socket joint of the hip.
Doctors have speculated Jackson will never play football or baseball again, but Jackson's physician, sports specialist James Andrews of Birmingham, Ala., was critical of those "doom and gloom" reports.
"We have had some very favorable information relative to the prognosis of Bo's hip," Andrews said. "We think Bo has an excellent potential to heal . . . [and] the White Sox have been willing to accept the risk."
Schueler convinced owner Jerry Reinsdorf a week ago to take a chance on Jackson, saying, "Anytime you can get an athlete of Bo's caliber, you've got to take that gamble. If he can bounce back, we've made a great gamble."
Dr. James Boscardin, the White Sox's orthopedic surgeon, said: "We won't risk his condition just to meet some timetable. He'll be on the field when his hip is ready."
Jackson said: "My prognosis has come a long way since the injury. I'm able to walk with no pain. They won't let me go out and run - yet. But things are coming along great."
Jackson's contract calls for a $700,000 salary in 1991 with bonuses of $10,000 for each game available up to 80. The club option for 1992 is for his 1991 earnings less $100,000 and includes bonuses of $10,000 for each game available up to 150. The 1993 option is for his 1992 earnings plus bonuses of $10,000 for each game available, with a $3.75 million maximum.
Thus, if Jackson returns at midseason and stays healthy, he could earn $1.5 million in 1991, $2.9 million in 1992 and $3.75 million in 1993. The deal also includes several award bonuses.
The contract doesn't bar Jackson, who has a year left on his $7.4 million Raiders' contract, from playing football again.
"We can't prevent that [Jackson playing football], but we can protect ourselves, and we have," Schueler said.
Raiders executive assistant Al LoCasale said Wednesday the team expects Jackson at the "middle of the season, just as we have the past four seasons."
by CNB