PHOENIX -- The Arizona Outlaws announced the signing of wide receiver Al Williams to a 3-year contract reportedly worth more than $500,000.
Williams, who caught 55 passes for 1,020 yards and eight touchdowns for Arizona last year, became a free agent after the season.
He had been talking to the NFL's Detroit Lions.
Arizona president Bill Tatham Jr. said the signing may be the first since the end ofthe 1985 USFL season.
'We've committed substantial sums of money in the last few weeks,' said Tatham, 'and everybody knows we run our franchise like a business. It is evidence we feel pretty secure about the future of the USFL.'
At a time when the league has been selling top players to the NFL, the Outlaws have obtained some top talent. In addition to Williams, they have acquired wide receivers Eric Truvillion from Tampa Bay and Derek Holloway from Oakland.
