Montana, Esiason Are in the Money

Super Bowl quarterbacks Joe Montana of San Francisco and Boomer Esiason of Cincinnati are two of the highest-paid players in the National Football League.

According to the NFL Players Assn., Esiason’s salary this season was $1.2 million, Montana’s $1.1 million.

But Montana will match Esiason at $1.2 million next season, and when a 3-year extension goes into effect in 1990, he will become the first NFL player to earn $2 million in base salary. He also will get an annual $550,000 reporting bonus.

In 1987, Denver’s John Elway signed a 6-year, $9.7-million contract extension that took effect this season and, with $3 million in bonuses, averages $2,116,667 a season. The base pay, which escalates each year, was $1.4 million this season. It does not reach the $2-million mark until 1993.

Miami’s Dan Marino was tops in the league in base salary for 1988 at $1.45 million, edging Elway by $50,000. Marino signed a 6-year, $9-million deal in 1986.

Buffalo’s Jim Kelly and Indianapolis’ Eric Dickerson each earned base salaries of $1.2 million in 1988.

Bengalmania: In Villa Hills, a northern Kentucky suburb of Cincinnati, where 10 Bengals live, one of the city’s six black-and-white police cruisers is now sporting orange stripes.

“At first we thought of painting all six cruisers,� Police Chief Michael (Corky) Brown said. “But we thought that might be a little much.�

Tennis buddies: When Sam Wyche was the quarterback coach of the San Francisco 49ers in 1979-82, he and Bill Walsh, the head coach, often played tennis.

One Saturday morning, before leaving for an exhibition game, they decided to get in a few quick sets.

The problem was that after they split the first 2 sets, they kept going and played more than 50 games in the third set.

“Bill doesn’t like to lose at anything, and tennis is one of them,� said Wyche, who is now the Bengal coach. “And we could not settle the thing. No one would win 2 games in a row, and we couldn’t break the tie.

“We played until we literally--I’m not exaggerating--were hanging on the chain-link fence, we were so tired. He ended up winning that one, and we had to hustle in, take a shower still sweating and barely made the plane to go to the game.�

Pete Rose, on Johnny Bench’s not being a unanimous selection to the Hall of Fame: “I ask myself, ‘How could somebody not vote for him?’ But I guess there’s always somebody who won’t vote for you. They’ll say, ‘Well, even Babe Ruth wasn’t unanimous.’ But that don’t make it right.�

Denver Nuggets Coach Doug Moe, after a recent 17-point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks: “I’m amazed we stayed in the game with Alex English playing so poorly. Little Sisters of the Poor can blow us out if he plays poorly.�

The Boston Celtics, who were 36-5 at home last season, are 12-7 at Boston Garden this season. Said Danny Ainge: “Teams are coming in here with the feeling they can beat us. They can smell it. They feel we’re vulnerable. . . . It can’t get any worse than this.�

Quotebook

NBC’s Bob Costas, introducing colleague Paul Maguire at a luncheon in New York: “Here is a man who is to broadcasting what Oprah Winfrey is to pole vaulting.�