The end of the 2009 NFL season will allow a number of solid football players to hit the open market. Usually, in the last year of players’ contracts, that player will play hard and put forth a great deal of effort in order to receive a substantial contract the following year. This year, however, some of the big names in the league are not showing teams that they are worth big pay days.

PFTV reported on Braylon Edwards‘ sloppy season and how his year has fallen apart five weeks in. Other players such as Shawne Merriman, Demarcus Ware, and Terrell Owens are having pretty sub-par seasons so far.

After the Brady Quinn failure in Cleveland, Braylon Edwards hoped that Derek Anderson would hit him with some passes……fail. Then, as if his 0 catch game against the Bengals was bad enough, he allegedly punched LeBron James’ friend after the game at around 2:30 AM (this case is still being looked at). Let’s see if he can earn a big pay check using Mark Sanchez’s arm.

Merriman’s troubles started with his injury last year; after returning and looking forward to a promising season, he was arrested on domestic violence charges (this case was tossed). In my eyes, Merriman is still a solid football player – he is only 25 and has a lot of years ahead of him if he can rehab properly. However, his 8 total tackles in 4 weeks has failed to prove me right.

You can blame Terrell Owens’ mediocre season on Trent Edwards (otherwise known as Captain Checkdown), or you can blame it on Buffalo’s solid running game this season, or you can blame it on whatever you’d like. With 8 receptions for 158 yards and 1 touchdown, T.O. has not impressed me this season and to be honest, I have no clue where he could end up next season.

Demarcus Ware has only 16 tackles and 1 forced fumble so far this season. Not horrible, but not good for someone looking to score big in the “cha-ching” department. Manny Lawson of the 49ers has 23 tackles so far and Patrick Willis has 37 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 2 interceptions (Willis is a MLB, though).

It’s all about performing in the NFL. If these guys don’t clean up their acts and get their heads in the game, they will be left with less cash than guys like Derrick Mason, Ronnie Brown, Pierre Thomas and Darren Sharper, who are all playing exceptionally well.

Yet, Braylon Edwards, like many other professional athletes, dreams of bigger and better things, inside and outside of football. In a recent article in ESPN The Magazine, writer Carmen Reneé Thompson followed Edwards around for a day of meetings with the higher ups who hold his pass to silver screen stardom. Edwards claimed that “Outside of a Super Bowl ring, my definition of success is making more money after football.”

Of course, Edwards was not alone. His agent, Creative Artists Agency’s Howard Skall (who also represents Brady Quinn), accompanied him throughout the day. Edwards represents a growing percentage of athletes who are getting more and more interested in off-the-field pursuits in the entertainment industry. Along with hoping to make cameo appearances on shows like HBO’s Entourage or being a guest on Oprah, Edwards feels that he is capable of being a lead actor in a film and hopes to lock down a major endorsement deal this summer.

While CAA and other “powerhouse” agencies are doing a great job of getting their athletes, such as Peyton Manning, major endorsements deals (Manning scored an estimated $13 million in endorsements in 2007) and cameo roles (Manning hosted Saturday Night Live), where does this leave the smaller, “boutique” agencies? While agencies like CAA, IMG, and Octagon have divisions in the agencies dedicated to entertainment talent management and are well established in Hollywood, how can smaller firms open up the door and help their clients pursue their off-the-field interests without having to refer them to different agencies?

Some of these difficulties can be seen even with some of the largest “boutique” firms. KCB Sports Marketing is the firm that handles marketing for all of Drew Rosenhaus’ clients (Over 90 players including some of the NFL’s top players like Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson). Except for a few players like Johnson or Jeremy Shockey, it doesn’t seem like a lot of KCB’s high end clients (Tommie Harris, Willis MaGahee, Anquan Boldin, Frank Gore, etc.) have had their names linked with specific brand endorsements. That is not to say that this is for a lack of effort or forgetting that many other factors exist like player marketability, demand for athletes to endorse products, or even the players’ interest in endorsing a product play a factor in these endorsement deals. It just seems to me that when your organization represents around 5% of the NFL, more than 2 or 3 of your clients should have recognizable endorsements with major products and brands.

With endorsements being a major market for athletes, and as more professional athletes look to get into the entertainment business, how are the “boutiques” going to get their slice of the pie? Just a little food for thought.

Am I missing something? Feel the need to put in your two cents. Please leave your thoughts and comments below. The Sports Agent Blog Community would love to hear what you have to say on the topic. Thanks!