The Eagles, looking to land the biggest free agent in franchise history, Saturday signed running back Ricky Watters of the Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers to a three-year, $6.9 million offer sheet.
The Niners have seven days to match the Eagles' offer. But the Eagles have front-loaded the deal - Watters would earn an estimated $3.5 million salary in 1995 - in an attempt to thwart San Francisco's ability to fit Watters under the $37.1 million NFL salary cap."Ricky wants to play in Philadelphia," said Watters' agent, Blaine Pollock, who added that Watters was hoping the 49ers would just let him go to Philadelphia. "He wants to come home."
Watters, a native of Harrisburg, Pa., would be the Eagles' highest-paid player in 1995. Quarterback Randall Cunningham is due to make $3.1 million.
Watters, who is expected to arrive at Veterans Stadium in time for a mini-camp on Wednesday, would be Philadelphia's first Pro Bowl-caliber running back since Wilbert Montgomery galloped to stardom 15 years ago.
Last year, Watters' 1,595 total yards from scrimmage was third highest in the NFC behind Barry Sanders of Detroit and Emmitt Smith of Dallas. He gained 877 yards on the ground, collecting 3.7 yards per carry behind an offensive line that was hurt most of the year.
And the Eagles' new quick-strike passing game under offensive coordinator Jon Gruden should flourish with Watters, who caught 66 passes for 719 yards and five touchdowns last season.
Rhodes, the Niners' defensive coordinator in last season, has been selling Watters on the fact that the Eagles want him to carry the football 20 to 25 times per game, giving Watters the kind of setup Emmitt Smith has with Dallas.
Watters will be getting Emmitt Smith kind of money, too. With salary and bonuses, Smith is due to make $3.2 million. The NFL's best running back, Barry Sanders, is due to make $3.47 million in salary and bonuses. Watters' $3.5 million salary in 1995 - a large portion of which will be paid in advance - will make him the highest-paid running back in the league.
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie deliberately kept a large signing bonus out of the Watters' deal so that it would not be spread over the three-year life of the contract, thus holding down the 1995 cap value of the deal, sources said. This was done to knock San Francisco out of the bidding.
The Niners are currently only $450,000 under the salary cap. They have already factored in a $2.273 million tender sheet to Watters into their cap money. So, in order to reach the Eagles $3.5 million offer to Watters in 1995, they would have to come up with nearly $850,000 more.
But San Francisco has several other key players to sign - Pro Bowl cornerback Deion Sanders, and Dana Stubblefield, the defensive tackle who has become the heart of their front four. It is not likely that Sanders would be satisfied making less money than Watters.
They also need a pass rusher, a punter, a backup quarterback and money to pay draft picks.
Moreover, Dwight Clark, the Niners' director of football operations, sounds like a guy who is ready to let Watters go. He said in a recent interview that San Francisco thinks promising running back Derek Loville "is every bit as good a running back as Ricky. But Ricky is just as exceptional out of the backfield catching the ball."