ORLANDO, Fla. -- NFL players will be able to earn more money for the number of downs they are on the field this season.

The league and the players union agreed on a system that will distribute money for the amount of action each player gets. The funds will come from a special pool, although it will be part of player costs under the salary cap.

Lower-salaried players will get the majority of the share of the pool.

"Factored into the formula is a player's (salary) compensation," Harold Henderson, chairman of the NFL's management council, said Monday at the league meetings. "All players are eligible. The pool will be a modest number this year, it grows each year, and by '06 we think it will be about $250 million that has been put into the pool."

Playing time will be measured by the number of downs in which a player participates vs. the number of downs he is eligible to play. For example, an offensive or defensive player who also is on the field for special teams will get a bigger chunk of the money distributed.

Henderson estimated less than $15 million will be in the 2002 pool.

"There will be a substantial incremental increase year to year," he added. "It will be a nominal sum for a high-priced player to as much as $150,000 (by 2006) for minimum salary guys who get a lot of playing time. And we have a lot of them each year. It's not inconceivable that 75 percent of the money could go to lower-paid players."

All of the money must be distributed each season, Henderson said.

NFL sticking with networks
Football fans, keep your antennas. There's no rush to cable TV for the NFL.

Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said Monday he doesn't foresee any substantial changes in the league's presence on over-the-air networks. The current $17.6 billion contract runs through 2005 and has Sunday NFC road teams telecast by Fox; Sunday AFC road teams on CBS; Monday night games on ABC; and Sunday night games on ESPN -- the only cable presence.

"The future I see is we will continue to have the mass of our games on broadcast television," Tagliabue said at the league owners' meetings. "We will be developing a number of different television offerings. We have plenty of opportunities to stay on broadcast television."

Tagliabue mentioned the potential use of digital television, as well as the Internet, to enhance the product.

Dirty business
Player agent Frank Bauer, who recently lost likely No. 1 draft pick David Carr to another agent, said Monday that his business was "worse than ruthless."

Bauer, who has free-agent quarterback Chris Chandler in his stable, lost Carr as a client in January. Carr, the Fresno State quarterback, signed with Bauer, then switched to another agent after receiving a letter detailing the involvement of Bauer's former partner, Mike Blatt, in a 1989 California murder case.

Bauer long ago ended his partnership with Blatt.

"When a person signs with a first-class athlete, that's when the sharks come out, and the sharks came out on this," Bauer told reporters at the NFL owners' meetings.

No replay discussions
One of the hottest topics at recent NFL meetings isn't even on the agenda this time. Instant replay to aid game officials barely will be discussed, since the current system was approved for three years in 2001.

The league's competition committee did not recommend any changes in the coaches' challenge setup that began in 1999.

"I think it is set in stone," commissioner Paul Tagliabue said Monday. "There is a general feeling that it is working well.

"Generally, people are satisfied with it giving us the ability to review the game-breaking or season-breaking call without interrupting the flow of the game."