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Wide receiver Anthony Carter of the defunct Michigan Panthers...

DETROIT -- Wide receiver Anthony Carter of the defunct Michigan Panthers intends to call club owner Al Taubman in an attempt to get out of the final year of his U.S. Football League contract.

'I think I'm going to give him (Taubman) a call,' Carter said on Sports View Today, a cable television show seen in southeastern Michigan hosted by Ron Cameron and Bob Page. 'I signed a contract to play with the Michigan Panthers and no one else.'

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Joe Robbie, whose Miami Dolphins own the Florida native's rights in the NFL, has invited Carter to be his guest at the team's Monday night game next week.

The 5-foot-9, 155-pound wide reciever broke his arm early last season but had a spectacular rookie year in leading the Panthers to the first USFL title. Carter is going to ask Taubman if he can 'buy out my contract and play for the NFL,' especially 'if they assign me to a football team I really don't like, like San Antonio.'

Carter signed a three-year personal services contract with Taubman and the Panthers after a brilliant career at the University of Michigan. It has one more season to run.

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'I think they have the right to assign me to a team,' Carter admitted. 'I probably will play with another USFL team in the spring. Then after my contract is up, I'll negotiate a contract with an NFL team.'

The Panthers, looking to merge with another USFL team, are trying to strike a deal with the Oakland Invaders.

'I want to leave,' he said. 'Especially with the situation with the Michigan Panthers. I like to wake up in the morning and know the team is going to be there. I think the league is on the way downhill.

'I have a USFL contract,' Carter said. 'If they merge, they're going to merge with Oakland and I'll have to go out there.'

Carter tried to work out last Friday but was locked out of the Silverdome and told he could not practice any more. The Panthers issued their final staff paychecks last week.

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