NFL: Eagles, Steelers may lend logos to lottery

The Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers are talking with the Pennsylvania State Lottery about deals to put team logos on instant-ticket games.

"It would be similar to what we did last year in March with Major League Baseball when we had an instant ticket game for the Phillies and the Pirates," said Stephanie Weyant, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. "The earliest people could expect to see something with the Eagles and Steelers is this fall."

An Eagles spokesman declined comment.

The NFL announced Wednesday that teams could strike licensing deals with state lotteries. The New England Patroits announced a deal with the Massachusetts State Lottery yesterday and scratch-off tickets could be ready for the 2009 season.

"This is going to be a hugely successful collaboration," Patriots owner Robert Kraft told the Associated Press.

The Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings are talking with their respective state lotteries and the Titans said they would consider a deal in Tennessee, according to AP. The New York Lottery is talking to the Buffalo Bills - as well as the New Jersey-based Giants and Jets.

Vikings. Coach Brad Childress confirmed for the first time that he spoke to quarterback Brett Favre, but he said their last contact was "several weeks ago" and solely by phone. "It was worth a conversation," Childress said at a Vikings minicamp, "and as far as I know he's still retired."

Childress did not comment on whether the team has looked at Favre's medical reports, whether there's a point this summer when it would be too late to hire him, or whether Favre directly expressed interest in playing for Minnesota.

Steelers. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette he does not have skin cancer, despite an online posting by someone claiming to be him.

Vick settles in. Michael Vick's attorney, Lawrence Woodward, told reporters the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback remains a federal inmate as he serves two months of home confinement to complete his 23-month sentencing for a dogfighting conspiracy, and cannot speak to the media without permission from the Bureau of Prisons.

Noteworthy. Cleveland Browns receiver Donté Stallworth's arraignment in Miami on DUI manslaughter charges was delayed until next month. . . . Former NFL star William "The Refrigerator" Perry was released from Aiken Regional Medical Center in South Carolina after a monthlong stay for complications of a nervous system disorder, a spokeswoman said. . . . Former San Diego Chargers quarterback Ryan Leaf, 33, has been indicted by a Randall County (Texas) grand jury on drug and burglary charges. He is accused of breaking into an apartment on Oct. 30 and stealing the painkiller Hydrocodone.