NFL-National Football League roundup

March 27 (The Sports Xchange) - Michael Sam, the first openly gay player to be drafted by an NFL team, said he is not alone as a gay player in the league. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Sam declined to estimate how many gay athletes play in the NFL, but he said several players contacted him after the St. Louis Rams made him a seventh-round draft pick last year. "I am not the only gay person in the NFL," Sam said during a speech in Dallas on Thursday. "I'm just saying there is a lot of us. I respect the players that did reach out to me and had the courage to tell me that they were also gay, but they do not have the same courage as I do to come out before I even played a down in the NFL. "Was it a risky move? Yes. But at that moment, the reason why I came out is I thought it wasn't going to be a big deal. Maybe I was naive. Maybe I thought it was 2014, and people will understand that there (are) gay NFL players. There's gay athletes everywhere. But I was clearly wrong. It was a huge deal. - - - The Carolina Panthers claimed offensive tackle Jonathan Martin off waivers and also signed wide receiver Jarrett Boykin to a one-year contract. Martin was released Thursday by the San Francisco 49ers, one year after the 49ers traded for Martin in the aftermath of a bullying incident in Miami. The 6-foot-5, 312-pound Martin played in 15 games and started nine last season for the 49ers. - - - The Minnesota Vikings signed veteran cornerback Terence Newman to a one-year deal worth $2.5 million. Newman, 36, reunites with coach Mike Zimmer for the third time. Newman also drew interest from the New England Patriots. In his 12-year career, Newman has started 172 of 174 games played and recorded 786 tackles and 37 interceptions. - - - The Wilf family will contribute an additional $19.5 million toward upgrades to the Vikings' ongoing $1.06 billion stadium project. The family contribution, according to owner Mark Wilf, will be nearly $551 million, with the $498 million difference falling to the public, which voted in favor of the stadium to replace antiquated downtown Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. The Minnesota Twins had been co-tenants of the stadium until constructing their own outdoor venue downtown, Target Field. - - - The Chicago Bears signed cornerback Alan Ball to a one-year contract. The 6-foot-2, 197-pound Ball has appeared in 93 NFL games, with 44 starts, over eight seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars. - - - The Tennessee Titans re-signed cornerback Brandon Harris to a one-year contract. A second-round draft pick of the Houston Texans in 2011, Harris played three seasons with Houston before signing with the Titans last year. He made 11 tackles in 11 games as a reserve in 2014. (Editing by Gene Cherry)