If Lemieux signs a contract averaging $6 million a season, the average of the top three salaries would appear to be about $4.15 million.

They are baseball's highest-paid pitchers with contracts averaging more than $5 million a year.

Yale has offered the food and maintenance workers a six-year contract averaging slightly more than 3 percent a year.

This past winter, 10 players signed contracts averaging $3 million or more per year.

In the five weeks after Black signed, 11 other pitchers signed contracts averaging $2 million or more.

He is the 32d player with a guaranteed contract averaging $3 million or more a year.

The Giants made him their one franchise player and signed him to a three-year contract averaging $2.2 million a year.

Reports have suggested that Hampton is seeking a contract averaging $15 million a season.

It was only three years ago, on Nov. 22, 1989, that Puckett became baseball's first player to sign a contract averaging $3 million a year.

Two weeks later, the Jets signed him to a three-year contract averaging $2.8 million a year.