Rookie holdouts are nothing new to the sports world. Every year we see a few or more rookies being advised by their agent/advisor to hold out of camp until a fair contract is signed. Before I jump to support any side, I’d like to present some important points-of-view.

From the athlete side: Professional sports are not just a game, but a business, too. Just like a worker wants his fair pay before starting a new job, so too does the athlete.

From the team/fans side: Although it is a business as well as a game, holding out of camp will pose a threat to the success of the athlete’s career; it will be like starting school late and missing tons of work and valuable information.

USA Today posted a great article about all of the remaining rookie holdouts and how their absence hurts them and the team. Here are those players:

• Aaron Curry, LB, Seattle Seahawks (4th overall pick)

• Andre Smith, T, Cincinnati Bengals (6th overall pick)

• Eugene Monroe, T, Jacksonville Jaguars (8th overall pick)

• B.J. Raji, DL, Green Bay Packers (9th overall pick)

• Michael Crabtree, WR, San Francisco 49ers (10th overall pick)

• Aaron Maybin, DE, Buffalo Bills (11th overall pick)

• Malcolm Jenkins, DB, New Orleans Saints (14th overall pick)

As we have all seen in the past, some “holdout” rookies have had tougher times getting starting jobs, playing to their best ability, and overall adapting to the fast-paced National Football League.

• JaMarcus Russell, one of the most hyped quarterbacks in recent years, was drafted 1st overall and has only played 19 games in his three year professional career. (Russell held out)
• Brady Quinn was drafted in the first round of his draft and has only played in 4 games in his three years in the NFL. (Quinn held out)
• Matt Ryan was drafted 3rd overall in the ‘08 NFL Draft and DID NOT hold out. He started 16 games in 2008 and has become one of the most successful quarterbacks in the NFL.
• Joe Flacco was drafted 18th overall in ‘08 and DID NOT hold out. Flacco also started 16 games in 2008 and has given the Baltimore Ravens great success on the field.

Now, I ask the players: Is taking a risk of not starting at all or being sub-par worth the money? Yes, you will be getting paid a lot of money to sit on the bench, but it will hit you in 5-6 years when your rookie contract is up and it is time to sign a new one. You will not be seeing those same dollars.

Getting Flacco signed and in camp on time was essential if Flacco is to have any shot at winning a starting quarterback job. Last summer we witnessed Brady Quinn sit out more than 2 weeks due to a contract dispute. Not only did it set him back in regards to learning the offense, it may have cost him from ever stepping onto the field in a Browns uniform.

With Joe Flacco signed, there is now a realistic chance he wins the starting quarterback job. He will be competing against Kyle Boller and Troy Smith; neither of which have been able to establish themselves as a starting quarterback in the NFL.

The Brady Quinn contract debacle last summer was proof of how important it is to get a quarterback in camp on time. Sometimes it’s worth sacrificing a few dollars to ensure your client a shot at a starting position. The sooner Flacco wins the starting quarterback job, the sooner he will earn incentives and endorsement deals.

Linta, realized Flacco’s unique opportunity and did everything possible to give his client a shot at being the starting quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens.

• Gilbert Arenas denies rumor that he will be signing with Leon Rose/CAA [Agent Zero sticking to plan].
• Biggest sleeper in the 2008 NBA Draft [Draft Zach Feinstein].
• Or you could pick a guy that won a national championship [Kaun chooses sports agency].
• Troy Smith must be loving this.. [Ravens First-Round Pick QB Joe Flacco Signs Three-Year Deal With Reebok].
• David Diehl proved he was the real deal…nuff said [Giants pay Diehl for successfully tackling new role].
• Tom Condon carries a large stick [New Deal For Chargers’ Gates In Sight With Hiring Of Agent Condon].
• The MLB Amateur Draft is right around the corner. Start learning these names [RivalsHIGH.com TOP 50 Draft Prospects].
• I would have been surprised if Big Brown was not sponsored by UPS [UPS In Derby Winner's Circle With Big Brown].
• Advertising on SportsAgentBlog.com is much cheaper than advertising during the Super Bowl…I promise [Jump Off Point for Super Bowl Ads? $3 Million Dollars].
• Been a while since SportsAgentBlog.com has been featured in a Carnival of the NBA. Nice to be back [Carnival of the NBA #56].
• CHAMP Spikes will have an eBay charity auction with items like autographed shoes from Tiger Woods. 100% of the proceeds will benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation [Pink On The Links].

Lots of goodness this week. We received a lot of inbound links and even got some love from Sports Illustrated. I will go with where the page views have been heavy and make the post on 11-year-old, Jashaun Agosto, the featured post of the week. Check it out on the right sidebar by clicking Featured.

1. Miami Dolphins – Jake Long – OT/Michigan (Tom Condon, Ben Dogra/CAA)
2. St. Louis Rams – Chris Long -DE/Virginia (Marvin Demoff/Morris Yorn Barnes Levine)
3. Atlanta Falcons – Matt Ryan -QB/Boston College (Tom Condon, Ben Dogra/CAA)
4. Oakland Raiders – Darren McFadden – RB/Arkansas (Ian Greengross/GAME)
5. Kansas City Chiefs – Glenn Dorsey – DT/LSU (Joel Segal/Blue Equity)
6. NY Jets – Vernon Gholston – DE/Ohio State (Ben Dogra/CAA)
7. New Orleans Saints – Sedrick Ellis – DE/USC (Eugene Parker/Maximum Sports)
8. Jacksonville Jaguars – Derrick Harvey – DE/Florida (Ken Kremer/CAA)
9. Cincinnati Bengals – Keith Rivers – LB/USC (Joby Branion, Justin Schulman/Athletes First)
10. New England Patriots – Jerod Mayo – LB/Tennessee (Mitch Frankel/Impact Sports)
11. Buffalo Bills – Leodis McKelvin – CB/Troy (Hadley Engelhard/Enter-Sports Management)
12. Denver Broncos – Ryan Clady – OT/Boise State (Pat Dye Jr., Bill Johnson/ProFiles Sports)
13. Carolina Panthers – Jonathan Stewart – RB/Oregon (Ben Dogra/CAA)
14. Chicago Bears – Chris Williams – OT/Vanderbilt (Bill Johnson, Pat Dye Jr./ProFiles Sports)
15. Kansas City Chiefs – Branden Albert – G/Virginia (Todd France/FAME)
16. Arizona Cardinals – Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie – CB/TN St. (Eugene Parker/Maximum Sports)
17. Detroit Lions – Gosder Cherilus – OT/Boston College (Greg Diulus/DeBartolo Sports)
18. Baltimore Ravens – Joe Flacco – QB/Delaware (Joe Linta, Tom Kleine/JL Sports)
19. Carolina Panthers – Jeff Otah – OT/Pittsburgh (Eric Metz/Lock, Metz & Malinovic)
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Aqib Talib – CB/Kansas (Todd France/FAME)
21. Atlanta Falcons – Sam Baker – OT/USC (Tom Condon, Ben Dogra/CAA)
22. Dallas Cowboys – Felix Jones – RB/Arkansas (Eugene Parker/Maximum Sports)
23. Pittsburgh Steelers – Rashard Mendenhall – RB/Illinois (Mike McCartney/Priority Sports)
24. Tennessee Titans – Chris Johnson – RB/East Carolina (Joel Segal/Blue Equity)
25. Dallas Cowboys – Mike Jenkins – CB/South Florida (Eugene Parker/Maximum Sports)
26. Houston Texans – Duane Brown – OT/Virginia Tech (Ken Landphere, Andy Ross/Octagon)
27. San Diego Chargers – Antoine Cason – CB/Arizona (Brad Leshnock/BTI Sports)
28. Seattle Seahawks – Lawrence Jackson – DE/USC (Sean Howard, Michael Sullivan/Octagon)
29. San Francisco 49ers – Kentwan Balmer – DT/North Carolina (Gary Wichard/Pro Tect Management)
30. NY Jets – Dustin Keller – TE/Purdue (Eugene Parker/Maximum Sports)
31. NY Giants – Kenny Phillips – S/Miami (Drew Rosenhaus, Jason Rosenhaus/Rosenhaus Sports)

By Number of Clients Selected in Agency

1. CAA – 6
2. Maximum Sports – 5
3. Octagon – 2, Blue Equity – 2, FAME – 2, ProFiles Sports – 2
7. 12 tied at 1

Before the draft, Forbes writer, Tom Van Riper, dug up some interesting information from the NFLPA: 23 separate agencies represented the first-round class in 2000. By 2007, that number was reduced by just one. This year, though, the number shrunk to just 18 agencies representing the 32 players projected to go in the first round by Scouts, Inc. CAA Football has five players, while Roanoke, Ind.-based Maximum Sports Management has four.

Scouts, Inc. was on the money. Eighteen agencies are listed above. CAA and Maximum Sports each got one more player selected than was hypothesized by the website. Is it a bad thing that only only eighteen agencies are represented among the top 31 picks or that two agencies combined account for one-third of the players taken in the First Round? It depends on who you ask.

CAA and Maximum Sports have been partying in their spare time (when they are not on the phone trying to hammer out fine details on each of their clients’ contracts), but smaller agencies are wondering what they can do to break into this tough industry, and more precisely, the toughest sport in the profession. Does it shock you that a large agency like Rosenhaus Sports Representation barely got a single player selected in the first round? Miami did have a terrible year, so that may explain it.

Industry consolidation can be a beautiful thing if you are either the agency that is eating up the competition or an agency that is bought out by one of the behemoths. If you are an agency stuck on the outside, do you start to become worried about your chances of breaking into the coveted First Round of the NFL Draft?