Sport: The Talent War Is On

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Not one of the twelve teams of the gestating World Football League has even a preseason roster yet. No one knows when or if the newest experiment in pro sport expansion will seriously challenge the National Football League for fans. But there is one thing the W.F.L. owners do not lack: money with which to bargain for talent. Last week, before N.F.L. owners could unholster their pens, the W.F.L.'s Southern California franchise signed three top college stars. The upstart league has also drafted 69 other college players, though how many of them will actually sign contracts is still uncertain.

The three who agreed to go with the new enterprise: U.S.C. Offensive Tackle Booker Brown and U.C.L.A. Running Backs James McAlister and Kermit Johnson. None of the 26 N.F.L. teams seriously attempted to bid for the California trio; the players went unclaimed through the first five rounds of the N.F.L. college draft. While N.F.L. owners said little about the new threat, they quietly stressed to recruits the value of their league's elaborate fringe benefits —goodies that the W.F.L. cannot yet offer. Ohio State Tackle John Hicks, for instance, considered the W.F.L. but last week came to terms with the Giants immediately after being drafted. "There is a certain amount of security in the N.F.L.," said Hicks.

No doubt. But W.F.L. President Gary Davidson was wasting no time showing that his new venture was making progress. He announced a television contract to broadcast one game a week starting in July. He also disclosed innovations designed to lure fans with peppier play: an optional two-point conversion, a fifth period to settle ties, kickoffs from the 30-yard line. But the crucial question for now is the identity of the players.

"The war is on," chortled Attorney Bob Woolf, who makes his living negotiating athletes' contracts. Woolf predicts a 100% increase in players' salaries in the next year. After a second college draft, the next step will be an attempt to hire veteran N.F.L. players. A likely target is Joe Namath, who nine years ago gave the then struggling American Football League a big credibility boost by turning down the N.F.L. and signing with the New York Jets.