In his first four NFL seasons, the incomparable Jerry Rice banked less than $2 million in signing bonus and base salary compensation. On Wednesday afternoon, that figure became little more than pocket change for Randy Moss, whose signing bonus alone on his new eight-year contract with the Minnesota Vikings came to a gaudy $18 million.

So there seems little doubt that, barring a catastrophe, Moss will be recalled long after his playing days are over as the richest wide receiver in league history.

	The most exciting thing you can hear when watching an NFL game is "Culpepper's looking deep for Moss."

The begged question: Years from now, will Moss also be remembered as the best wide receiver ever to play at the professional level?

"He could be," said Cris Carter, the second-most prodigious receiver in league annals, after the Moss signing. "But you know, 'ever' is a long time."

Were statistics the sole criterion, Moss might have a chance, since his pace over the first three seasons of his career is superior to the numbers posted by Rice in his initial three seasons. They also outdistance the pace Rice has set for 16 seasons.

Rice had 200 receptions for 3,525 yards and 40 touchdowns in his first three campaigns with the San Francisco 49ers. Entering his fourth season, Moss has 226 catches for 4,163 yards and scored 43 touchdowns.

In 16 seasons, Rice has averaged 80.1 catches, 1,202 yards and 11 scores. Extrapolate over a 16-year career Moss' current average and he would have 1,205 catches, 22,202 yards and a fairly amazing 229 touchdowns. That would leave Moss 76 catches shy of Rice but nearly 3,000 yards and 53 touchdowns ahead of the future Hall of Fame member.

But it is a dangerous game, even Rice would acknowledge, to project current numbers into the future. Because of injuries, for instance, Rice has averaged just 58 catches, 718 yards and 5.4 touchdowns the past four years. In 1997, a pair of knee surgeries limited him to seven catches.

One could make a fairly convincing case that no more than a handful of NFL players over the past 20 to 25 years have endured the kind of daunting offseason regimen to which Rice subjects himself as a matter of course. And one can wonder, fairly as well, if Moss can push himself in like manner for the long haul.

All the running in the world couldn't keep the ligaments in Rice's knee from shredding when he was bent over like a pretzel in the '97 season opener. All those 40-yard touchdown receptions won't make Moss immune to the freak incident.

That $18 million signing bonus Moss pocketed on Wednesday should be enough to encourage him to throw away his basketball shoes -- in fact, it is believed there is a stipulation in the new deal that will severely limit Moss' non-football-related athletic endeavors -- and to concentrate solely on becoming the best wide receiver ever. And perhaps the best player.

His battles with the Bay Area media aside, Rice was a man who looked in the mirror every day and saw the one person he had to continually battle. Survival was a secondary or even tertiary option for a man who privately considered no man, save the reflection staring back at him, his peer. To this point in his career, Moss' explosiveness on the field has been matched at times by his tantrums off it.

Funny that a guy who only months ago publicly suggested the Vikings might never win a Super Bowl would re-up for eight more years with that same team. Said Moss on Wednesday afternoon: "Times change, you know?"

True enough. What doesn't change, however, is time. It is the constant intangible cornerback, the free safety coming over in coverage to flick away a would-be touchdown pass at the last second. At this juncture in the time and space continuum, Randy Moss is the finest wide receiver in the game. Check back after the $75 million contract has lapsed, though, to assess his place in history.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.