ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, September 18, 1996 TAG: 9609180098
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
John Stockton, forsaking millions of dollars to finish his career in Utah, has agreed to a three-year, $15 million contract with the Jazz.
The team said Tuesday the 34-year-old All-Star guard is to sign when he arrives in Utah for the start of training camp on Oct.5.
``We're pleased things have worked out and John plans to sign what will likely be his final NBA contract with the Jazz,'' team owner Larry Miller said. ``He has contributed more to this franchise than numbers alone will ever tell.''
The value of the contract is millions below what Stockton could have made on the open market. But Stockton has said money is less important to him than other considerations.
The Jazz did not disclose terms of the contract but The Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News reported it at $15 million.
In other basketball news:
* Jackie Joyner-Kersee, who won Olympic gold medals in 1988 and 1992, announced that she will play for the Richmond Rage in the new American Basketball League.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Joyner-Kersee said she would play 28 to 35 games of the Rage's 40-game regular-season schedule. That would allow her to compete in the long jump and to continue making public appearances.
Joyner-Kersee, 5-foot-10, was a four-year starter at forward for UCLA before she became an Olympic star. She averaged 9.6 points and 6.2 rebounds and was a first-team all Western College Athletic Conference choice in 1985.
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