RUSTON, La. -- With champagne flowing and a new owner looking on approvingly, the New Orleans Saints Wednesday night signed quarterback Bobby Hebert.
No financial details were released on the contract with the highly regarded U.S. Football League free agent, but it came in the form of five 1-year pacts and was believed to be worth an estimated $750,000 to $800,000 annually.
Hebert, a Louisiana native, signed during a news conference held in a sixth-floor lounge of Neilson Dormitory at Louisiana Tech University, site of the Saints' training camp.
The signing came after a day of negotiations between new Saints' owner Tom Benson and agent Greg Campbell of Madison, Wisc.
'It's great to have Bobby Hebert back where he belongs in Louisiana,' Benson said. 'I know all the people in Louisiana are going to enjoy watching him play and cheering him and the Saints on to victories in the future.
'This is a great day for Louisiana sports fans. We're doing everything necessary to make this team a winner and this is a major step in this direction.'
Hebert, from Cut Off, La., starred at Northwestern Louisiana. He played for three years in the USFL and led the Oakland Invaders to the league championship game this season.
He also was the league's Most Valuable Player with the then-champion Michigan Panthers in 1983.
'This is a dream come true for me,' he said. 'I grew up watching the Saints play and living and dying with every game they played. I used to go to old Tulane Stadium and help that place rock and roll on a Sunday afternoon.
'I think it's great to be able to play in Louisiana, which has the greatest fans in the world. When we make it to the playoffs in the Super Bowl -- which we're going to do our best to do -- these fans are really going to go wild.'
Hebert and Campbell, who represents about 60 pro athletes, also had talked contract with the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Raiders.
'We're happy to have Bobby Hebert with the Saints,' Coach Bum Phillips said. 'If he belongs anywhere with the NFL, it's with the Saints. He's a great competitor, a fine young man and the type of athlete we want with our team.'
Hebert is scheduled to begin working out with the Saints Thursday. The club now has five quarterbacks in camp.
