Tait Signs With Kansas City Chiefs
Associated Press 9Sep99 L3
By Doug Tucker: AP Sports Writer

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - Its official. LDS First-round draft pick John Tait has finally signed a five-year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs, according to his agent. "This wasn't everything we wanted, but it was better than it was initially," said Tait's agent Ethan Lock "John struggled with this. People can say we were bluffing. But, he was within inches of just waiting until next April and going back in the draft. He decided in the end this was the better thing for him to do."

According to Lock, Tait was offended by an attempt by Chief's general manager Carl Peterson in negotiations last week to intimidate Tait and by Peterson's use of profanity. But Tait seems to have gotten past the problem and hopes that the team and fans can put the incident behind them also. "Kansas City is a good town full of good people," said Tait's father, Alan Tait. "It's time to put all this ugliness behind us and get on with mending fences and playing football. It's a great relief to John and to us. We're just glad it's over and he can get back to doing what he does best - playing football."