PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Art Modell, who said goodbye to Cleveland in a bitter parting nine years ago, bade farewell to the NFL yesterday after 43 years as an owner.

He went out still pleading his case that he was forced to move the Browns to Baltimore after the 1995 season to avoid financial collapse.

"If I didn't move my team to Baltimore, my family would have gone into bankruptcy," Modell said yesterday.

His money problems, which he tied to his ownership of antiquated Cleveland Municipal Stadium, eventually forced him to sell the Ravens to Steve Biscotti, who officially became the franchise's owner after the 2003 season. Modell, attending his last NFL meeting, received a formal recognition from his fellow owners and a standing ovation yesterday.

They were in a different mood in 1996, when Modell moved out of Cleveland. Dan Rooney was particularly upset by the move and helped push for the NFL to give Cleveland an expansion team and keep the Browns' name and history. Many believe that moving the Browns to Baltimore has kept Modell, 78, out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Rooney was one of five owners who submitted the recognition. All of them were part of the league when Modell bought the Browns in 1961.

"Art is a legend of our game and one of life's unforgettable characters," NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said.

Support for Tagliabue

At the urging of Rooney, the league's 32 owners voted unanimously yesterday to begin negotiations to extend Tagliabue's contract beyond its May 2005 expiration date.

"He has been just excellent in his 15 years," said Rooney, chairman of the management council executive committee. "He has taken this league to a new level."

Rooney proposed the contract to be for three more years.

More choices

For the second year in a row, the Steelers received no compensatory draft choices. The NFL awarded 32 compensatory choices for the 2004 draft to 16 teams yesterday. The picks are awarded based on a system that determines the net value of free agents lost and gained by teams the previous year.

Philadelphia was the big winner for losing. The Eagles were awarded two fourth-round picks and two seventh-round picks. The Cincinnati Bengals were awarded the only compensatory pick in the third round.

Pay for play

Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor played mostly on special teams as a rookie last season and he received a special bonus for it. Under the NFL's "performance based pay" system that began in 2002, Taylor earned an extra $68,013, which ranked 25th in the league.

The NFL doled out $32 million in PBP last year, a 112 percent increase from 2002. The performance based pay is tied to a player index that includes playing time divided by an adjusted compensation. It mostly goes to younger players who earn the minimum wage yet have more playing time than others.

"Pay for performance rewards players who may be on the bottom of the team pay scale but play a majority of the games," said Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFL Players Association.

Ahead of the game

Tagliabue called the NFL drug and steroids programs the best in pro sports and said it has been ahead of the curve in testing for over-the-counter drugs such as ephedrine.

"Our advisors have told me that everything that should be banned already is banned," Tagliabue said.

Major League Baseball and its players union is under pressure to strengthen its drug policy in light of the federal investigation into Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative that forced prominent players to testify.

Rematch in opener

A rematch of the AFC championship game will kick off the NFL schedule when Indianapolis plays at New England Thursday night Sept. 9.

The NFL, expected to announce its full schedule within the next several weeks, revealed four nationally broadcast pairings for its opening weekend. None includes the Steelers.

Fox will broadcast a game between Dallas and Minnesota at 4:15 p.m. Sept. 12, and ESPN will show a game between Kansas City and Denver at 8:30 that night. The first Monday night game will feature the Green Bay Packers at Carolina, which lost the Super Bowl to New England.