DETROIT -- Billy Sims runs to U.S. District Court today for a hearing on a suit to decide whether he honors a contract he signed with the Houston Gamblers of the U.S. Football League -- or one he signed with the NFL Detroit Lions.
The 1978 Heisman Trophy-winning running back signed contracts with both teams but now wants to play for the Lions, who will pay him more money. Sims and the Lions have filed suit to invalidate the Houston pact and award damages.
Muddying matters is the fact one of the Houston owners is Dr. Jerry Argovitz, the agent who negotiated Sims' original pact with the Lions and also signed the running back to his USFL contract. Argovitz received a commission of nearly $200,000 for signing Sims for the Gamblers.
'I think this is a relatively simple case,' Sims' attorney, Elbert Hatchett, said, 'of whether he can be forced to honor the Argovitz contract. I don't think it'll take a lot of witnesses to determine that he doesn't.'
Hatchett said his case would take less than two days to present. Attorneys for Argovitz say their case could take a week.
The only question being decided today is which contract is valid. Sims accepted part of his bonus money from Argovitz in July and also was given a $1 million bonus for signing with Detroit.
Sims signed a five-year, multi-million contract with Houston on July 1. Because Argovitz wanted to make sure the pact was legal, he had Sims sign a similar contract in November.
But on Dec. 16 Sims signed an even bigger five-year deal with Detroit, the team the former Oklahoma star has played for since he was the No. 1 pick of the 1980 draft.
Sims and the Lions originally filed a joint suit last year in Oakland County Circuit Court, charging Argovitz with fraud and misrepresentation while negotiating for Sims.
The suit was transferred to federal court, where U.S. District Judge Robert DeMascio ruled Monday the Lions have no standing to assert Sims' rights on his behalf and dropped them from the suit.
If DeMascio rules Sims' contract with Detroit is valid, a trial on the Lions' suit for damages against Argovitz and the Gamblers will be held at a later date.
