clarinews@clarinet.com (02/05/90)
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (UPI) -- Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly will soon receive a six-year contract extension worth from $19.5 to $20 million, according to a published report Sunday. The report, in the Buffalo News, said the finishing touches are being put on the contract extension which would make Kelly one of the highest-paid players in the NFL. The newspaper reported the new pact would take effect after the 1990 season, the last under Kelly's original five-year contract with the Bills. The contract will include a signing bonus of between $1.5 and $2 million, the report said. ``I see no major impediments to a resolution,'' Bills general manager Bill Polian said of the contract negtiations with Kelly, who signed a five-year contract with the Bills in 1986 -- reportedly for $8 million -- after playing two season with the Houston Gamblers of the now-defunct USFL. Kelly completed 228 of 391 passes last season for 3,130 yards and 25 touchdowns. In the Bills playoff loss to Cleveland last month, he hit on 28 of 54 passes for 405 yards and four touchdowns. With an annual average salary of about $3 million, Kelly would become the highest-paid player in the league. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana, however, is reportedly expected to receive a substantial pay increase from his current $1.99 million per year, after leading the 49ers to their fourth Super Bowl championship Jan. 28. Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Randall Cunningham currently tops the NFLPA salary list at $2.6 million per season, followed by Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar at $2.3 million. Polian said the strategy of tying the Bills and Kelly to a long-term contract is dictated by the absence of labor peace in the league, and the prospect of a more liberalized form of free agency. ``You're reacting to what now is a highly confused labor situation, one that's certainly going to change at some time in the future,'' he said. ``And if you presume -- and I do -- that a top-flight quarterback is necessary to the long-term health of the franchise, then you do what you can to protect the health of the franchise.'' ``As (head coach( Marv Levy has said many times,'' Polian added, ``Jim Kelly is the right quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, for a lot of different reasons. The principal ones are his toughness and never-say-die attitude.''