Drew Rosenhaus has had his fair share of clients that he represented prior to and during the NFL Draft, but he is mainly known for the sheer number of players who switch to him when it is time for them to re-negotiate their contract or sign their big second contract.  Rosenhaus’ competition hates it, and so they should.  As an NFLPA certified advisor, you most likely have to pay for your clients’ training, food, and housing prior to the draft (and anything else that comes up).  Then, if you are lucky enough to have your clients drafted, you will take a meager 3% at tops (many agents charge less just so they can compete with guys like Rosenhaus) of their professional contracts.  For non-first rounders, that figure does not come out to much.  Last, you can’t sleep at all because you are always worried that your clients will make a switch to a different agent before you are actually able to negotiate the big contract and make some sort of money to live off of.  Only to possibly lose your client to a guy like Rosenhaus.  Rough life, but you chose to live it.

In baseball, we rarely discuss a guy like Rosenhaus, who players flock to once they are ready to negotiate a big contract.  Scott Boras grabs all the bonus babies before they are drafted and rakes in his nice 5% advising fee early in their careers.  Sure, some players leave their agents for Boras, especially right before becoming arbitration eligible, but we don’t hear about it ALL that much.  In fact, Boras recently lost a big fish to a rival agency; one that might start making a name for itself as one that picks up players after they make it to the pros.

Hendricks Sports Management is run by Randy and Alan Hendricks.  The brothers started the firm in the 1970s, sold it to SFX, and then re-formed the agency in 2003.  They have been in the business for a very long time, are connected to basically every important person in the business of baseball, and have seen their fare share of arbitration cases.  There’s a certain comfort factor for players who are looking to make a switch in representation.  And they are quiet about the clients they actually represent (their website does not list any).  Once a team that represented 16% of all Major League players, after they re-formed the agency in 2003, they say that they are more selective about who they represent.

So why the possible relation to the Rosenhaus brothers?  Well, last year, the Hendricks brothers grabbed Rick Porcello from none other than Scott Boras Corp.  Recently, they signed former Cuba defector, Kendry Morales, who used to be represented by David Valdes.  Is this the start of a new business model for the Hendricks brothers or did they just offer to represent two players who were upset with their previous representation?  Definitely something to keep an eye on.

Agent Mark Stevens is in the news again. Back in 2006 he was compared to Drew Rosenhaus when he and another high profile client, Ron Artest, were in a strikingly similar situation. Well he seems to be attempting to follow the same playbook in his most recent attempt to get Stephen Jackson traded out of Golden State.

After publicly stating a desire to be traded back in August and some initial backlash with coach Don Nelson resulting in Jackson being absolved of his duties as captain, things have seemed to quiet down in Golden State. Jackson has been playing without incident and has put up numbers in line with his career averages. Jackson even had a 15 assist night just a few days ago. Golden State is said to have been in talks with up to 10 teams with interest in Jackson and has been attempting to weigh offers and find a reasonable trade. It seemed as if an amiable end is possible after this falling out.

Then Jackson’s agent, Mark Stevens, decided to publicly insult Coach Don Nelson in an obvious effort to speed up the process of getting his client traded. Whether or not Stephen Jackson had known Stevens was going to publicly insult his coach, we will never know, but this seems all too familiar territory for Stevens and seems to be a well thought out plan (or not so well thought out depending on your point of view). Could this be Stevens’ way of speeding up the trade process, while attempting to deflect some of the blame from Jackson, who already has character issues and a bit of a troubled history in the league?

Where I take issue with the strategy is that now GMs are not only concerned with dealing for a player who is going to publicly bad mouth them or the team, they are going to be dealing for a player whose agent will publicly bad mouth the organization. That is certainly not the type of thing an agent would like to develop a reputation for. Maintaining a positive dialogue with the organization would certainly increase the odds of a mutually beneficial resolution. Stevens’ strategy may result in Golden State choosing to eliminate the headache and the contract by trading Jackson for little in return, which could result in Jackson ending up with another non-contender…which is why he originally wanted out of GS.

It remains to be seen how the whole situation will play out; however, the bigger question is when, if ever, as an agent, is it beneficial to make inflammatory comments about a client’s coach, team or management? While this may be the strategy that some choose to use, in the long run respectable, private negotiations seem to be the best avenue for accomplishing the goals of all parties involved. We have seen many a case in which an unhappy player and agent try to force their way out of a situation, but they very seldom work out positively for all sides.

*Note: Ron Artest is no longer represented by Mark Stevens and Stevens does not have any other NBA clients.

Interestingly, before hiring Drew Rosenhaus, LenDale did not actually have an agent.  The NFLPA lists his agent as Christopher Brantley of ASM Sports, but according to Brad Biggs of the National Football Post, Brantley is not an NFLPA certified advisor.  Thus, had LenDale not picked up Rosenhaus or another NFLPA certified advisor, he would have had to negotiate his next contract all by himself, which is something that most NFL players are not prepared to do (Daunte Culpepper and Ricky Williams are two of the few players who has attempted to negotiate their own deals).

ASM Sports is known for its strong basketball client list that includes Chauncey Billups, Donyell Marshall, Marreese Speights, and dozens of other talented players.  Andy Miller is the popular name behind the company, but most likely you have also heard of VP Justin Zanik.  I cannot find any information regarding the company representing professional football players, which makes me wonder how LenDale connected with Brantley in the first place.

The Brandon Marshall saga has tabbed the unruly pass catcher as just another troublesome wide receiver.

Just add him to the list of the NFL’s recent malcontents: Terrell Owens, Chad Ochocinco, Keyshawn Johnson, Deion Branch, Jerry Porter, and even in his short time in the league, Michael Crabtree, among others.

While he may be going about it wrong, he does have a point. He is scheduled to earn $2.2 million this year, a similar figure to what Bobby Wade, Arnaz Battle, Dexter Jackson, and Delanie Walker earned in 2008. But Marshall’s 206 receptions in the past two seasons suggest, obviously, a much higher level of play compared to his salary.

Everyone already knows Marshall is much better than his compensation, so how does he, or anyone for that matter, get a raise or a trade without being considered a team cancer? One way would be actually taking practice seriously and participating in team workouts, but Jay Cutler didn’t and he got what he wanted.

The position that Marshall plays seems to be having an effect of the way he is perceived. There are many other players who have contract gripes each year that aren’t as vilified as number 15 is. Julius Peppers complained to the Panthers asking to get traded and now he is the highest paid player this season.

Anquan Boldin has been pining for a deal or trade for a while, but has done nothing except a few complaints here and there to the Cardinals and the season is starting, and he is without a new contract or a new team.

Voicing a player’s desire through an agent can only go so far. Although, one third of the traditionally difficult receivers that were listed above are represented by Drew Rosenhaus and one is represented by Joel Segal, who has his share of players who have had trouble with the NFL or NFL teams.

So it may be more that Marshall’s trivial whining is actually a cerebral strategy, which in turn should not scare teams away from trading for or signing the star in the future as long as he is treated fairly.

Last year wasn’t Marshall’s first year of success; the Broncos should reward him with a new contract so the team can build around him and he can continue his reputation as a great wide receiver and a good entertainer, not as a disruption.

Though, maybe being a boisterous receiver has its benefits.  You don’t see anyone watching The Torry Holt Show on VH1.

Basketball

• Don’t mess with the Duffy (especially after his success in this year’s draft) [Ainge's criticism of Rondo angers agent].
• Thanks to Full Court Press for the very friendly comments [Carnival Of The NBA #65].
• More practice and competition overseas [Basketball development: Europe vs U.S.].

Football

• From Sportsstars, Inc. to Todd France [Rice Has New Representation].
• Drew Rosenhaus is on the Florida Panthers payroll [Panthers fans “hire” Drew Rosenhaus to negotiate ticket prices?].
• A total of $28.8 million in severance payments could be lost [Another Way The Uncapped Year Hurts Players].
• Someone tell J.P. Losman that there jai-alai playing is not allowed [UFL Contract Contains "NFL Exemption"].

Sports Business

• Anyone want to send me $185,000 so I can purchase .dynasty? [Custom Domain Extensions Will Soon Change the Sports Industry...].
• Tough news for athletes planning on becoming sportscasters upon retirement [Ex-athletes have no safety from ax in TV, radio gigs].
• Business schools love pro athletes, and more pro athletes should accept that love and enroll [For Pro Athletes, Business School Is No Game].

Drew Rosenhaus, agent of Eagles Tight End Cornelius Ingram, said via his Twitter account, “…we have just agreed to terms on a 4 year deal for rookie TE Cornelius Ingram.” This is great news for Eagles fans and can be seen as great news for other rookie tight ends who are currently awaiting contracts.

Brandon Pettigrew (Lions), Richard Quinn (Broncos), Jared Cook (Titans), Chase Coffman (Bengals), Travis Beckum (Giants), Shawn Nelson (Bills), Anthony Hill (Texans), James Casey (Texans), Zach Miller (Jaguars), Brandon Myers (Raiders), John Phillips (Cowboys), David Johnson (Steelers), and Cameron Morrah (Seahawks) are the remaining Tight Ends who have yet to receive a contract.

Ingram is in a pool with about 3-4 other TEs who have already been signed. He received a 4-year contract which will give him just a bit more than $1.9 million with a $183,000 signing bonus.

More recently, Anquan Boldin dropped Drew Rosenhaus for Tom Condon and Creative Artists Agency (CAA).  And yesterday, Cardinals GM Rod Graves expressed his excitement to work with Boldin’s new agents. 

Asked if there would be enough money under the salary cap to sign Boldin this year, Graves said, “It will have some challenges. There’s certainly cause for some give and take and creativity on both sides, but Tom’s been noted for that. Again, I just look forward to sitting with him and we’ll find out where we are at that point.”

I never saw a quote like that from Graves when Rosenhaus was on the other side of the negotiation table.

It seems as though GMs and other team personnel definitely play favorites when it comes to sports agents.  While Graves and others might place Condon over Rosenhaus, does it necessarily mean anything?  As long as the agent gets his client the best deal possible, quotes in an article don’t mean a thing to me.

• The man who fired Rosenhaus = Anquan Bolden
• The man who re-hired Rosenhaus = Jeremy Shockey
• The recipient of a 2-year contract extension with the Dolphins = Will Allen

Interestingly, Rosenhaus still represents Anquan’s brother, D.J., for the time being.  The rumor is that CAA and Eugene Parker are on Anquan’s short list as a replacement for Rosenhaus Sports Representation.

Karlos Dansby thinks Anquan made the right move:

“You have to make the right decision for you and your future and I think ‘Q’ made a great decision. He was being slandered in the media because of the decisions he was making through his representation.  For him to change his representation like that is big, man.  That says a lot about him.”

Football

• Largest increase in 3 years. And I predict a new CBA will be signed before the start of next season [Final adjustment increases salary cap].
• Sheldon Brown deserves more money, but who told him to sign a 9-year deal when he was 25-years-old? [The Early Extension of Young Players' Contracts].
• The guy has made a lot of money for his clients.. [Drew Rosenhaus, good or evil for the NFL??].
• My man, Kevin Sullivan, gives his advice to the Vick Camp [The PR campaign: A four-point plan for Vick].
• And Adam Ostrow of Mashable.com has some ideas of his own [Can Social Media Help Repair Michael Vick’s Image?].

Basketball

• King James makes roughly $25 million a year from endorsements alone (including a nice deal with Bubblicious) [NBA AM: LeBron James Staying Put].
• Shaq is serious about a career in broadcasting [IT'S ALL SHAQ-ADEMIC].

Sports Business

• What do you think about Danica Patrick’s new Twitter campaign? [Danica Patrick, Twitter, and Sponorships].

This is something that we, as agents, must accept.  Our clients will never be glorified for requesting or demanding a renegotiation of their contracts, but if they so deserve an increase in salary, then a little bit of criticism from the media and/or their organizations may be worth it.  So for the Lito Sheppards and Sheldon Browns, keep your heads up high.