Brian Urlacher is threatening to retire again. Actually, Urlacher apparently was joking on Monday when he brought up the subject with Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports while talking of media reaction to his demand for a contract extension.

``They’re killing me in Chicago,” Urlacher told Yahoo!. “I think I should just go ahead and retire.”

It wasn’t so funny last month when an incensed Urlacher accused the Sun-Times of writing a gossip column when it revealed Urlacher’s representatives both asked for a trade and threatened the player would retire due to injury — and thus not have to pay back any signing bonus from his $56.65 million deal — in an effort to get more money from the Bears. Urlacher has four years left on his original deal, but he feels he’s played well enough to demand more money despite a chronic back condition and a new neck injury that required surgery.

The Bears responded with a one-year extension for $18 million that would include $5 million up front and $1 million more in the four years with an extra season with a base pay of $9 million. Urlacher would have to meet basic playing time incentives for the $1 million in the four additional years by playing 85 percent of the defensive snaps, something he’s done every year of his previous eight seasons except during an injury-shortened 2004.

That offer wasn’t good enough. Urlacher instead wants a multi-year extension even though he told the Chicago Tribune he wants to play 12 seasons and then re-evaluate whether he can continue with his career. Urlacher already is under contract for that time period.

Nonetheless, he told Yahoo! Sports on Monday that he expects to boycott the team’s mandatory minicamp from May 30 to June 1 because of his ``dissatisfaction with management’s lax response for his request for a raise."

``I would bet I wouldn’t be there,’’ Urlacher told the Web sight. ``My agents and the team had some good dialogue early on, but nothing’s happened lately. It’s been almost two months since there’s been any action on their end, and it’s a waiting game right now.’’

Urlacher was asked if he could wait it out through training camp and replied: ``I haven't even thought about it. I’m hoping it doesn’t get that far.’’

The player already has forfeited a $50,000 workout bonus by not participating in the team’s off-season workout program, but skipping the mandatory minicamp would bring his boycott to a new level because the Bears would then be allowed to fine him for failing to show. The situation could become even more polarized if that happens.

Urlacher signed a nine-year deal in 2003, becoming he first defensive player in league history to get a new contract with two years left on his rookie deal.

``It’s easy for people to criticize me for wanting [a new deal], and I understand that it’s a contract and I signed it,” Urlacher told Yahoo!. “But this is the NFL, and if I’d signed it and I’d played like [expletive], they’d have cut me or tried to get me to take less. In my mind, there’s no difference. If they can ‘break’ a contract, I have a right to ask for more if I play well enough.

``When I signed my deal the salary cap was $75 million. It’s, what, $116 million now? Things have changed.

“I understand that all of this, to a normal person, sounds crazy. It’s all relative to what you do. If you’re a chair-builder, and you feel you’re the best at what you do, and other chair-builders are making more than you, then you’d want to be paid more, too.”

Urlacher, who will turn 30 this month, insisted he’s completed his rehabilitation from neck surgery and his back is under control.

``Their doctors say I’m OK,” he told the Web site. “Why do you pay your doctors if you’re not going to listen to them? All I can tell you is my back’s good, dude. My rehab is over, and I was telling our trainer the other day that even my worst day now is 20 times better than my worst day during the season. My neck is good, too.’’

Courtesy Chicago Sun Times