Saints' Williams Drops Agent

March 28, 2000 / 9:51 PM EST / CBS/AP

Ricky Williams, whose incentive-laden contract with the New Orleans Saints backfired on him last season, has fired his agent and hired Leigh Steinberg.

Williams had been represented by Leland Hardy, who works for the rapper Master P. His rookie contract contained an $8.8 million signing bonus, but most of the seven-year, $68 million deal was based on incentives, many of which were triggered upon reaching 1,600 yards in a season.

Williams was troubled all year by injuries and finished with just 884 yards on 253 carries. Edgerrin James, whom Indianapolis chose ahead of Williams, made nearly $15 million last season. James is represented by Steinberg, one of the NFL's upper-echelon agents.

Earlier this month, Williams was quoted in Sports Illustrated as saying he'd prefer the team be moved to San Antonio, Texas to be nearer his home in Austin. He later apologized.

"Ricky wants to play in New Orleans, he likes New Orleans," Steinberg said.

Steinberg said he has already talked to Randy Mueller, the Saints' new general manager, and will eventually renegotiate Williams' contract. "I always renegotiate," said Steinberg, who has re-done deals for Steve Young and Troy Aikman more than a dozen times.

But he added that he wants Williams to get comfortable in New Orleans before he gets into financial matters. One change: Williams, who did interviews last season wearing his helmet, will do them without the headgear.

"I just want to get him back to playing football," Steinberg said. "We'll deal with the rest as we go along."