As we get deeper into the NFL offseason, you will hear more and more chatter about free agency, franchise tags, and the like. This time of year is when agents make their mark on behalf of their clients. At the end of the day, an agent is judged on the end product of the agent-client relationship- the contract that is signed, sealed, and delivered. While recruiting and signing clients is obviously an imperative step of becoming a successful agent, it is only the first step. The true barometer of how successful you will be as an agent is dependent on whether you keep your clients happy once you sign them.
Agents are spread thin at this time of year. Attending the media frenzy NFL Combine and tackling the time-consuming challenge of bringing in next year’s rookie class only scratches the surface. Agents must also focus on the contracts of their current clients. As a NFLPA certified contract adviser, this is the bread and butter of athlete-representation.
Now, this is where the fun begins…
You are a very well known agent for a mouthy, but dominant NFL wide receiver. For our purposes, let’s just call him Ocho Cuatro. Mr. Cuatro has one year left on a 5-year contract he signed back in 2003. He is under contract for one more year with the team he has been with since he was a second-round pick out of college.
Lately, perennial pro-bowler Mr. Cuatro has publicly voiced his disapproval with the way he’s been treated by his club and he wants out. He has blasted his head coach and club many times over in the media. He has also told you that “I would rather sit the next season out then play for these knuckleheads.”
In your few meetings with team management, they have told you that they have absolutely no plans of trading Mr. Cuatro. They also don’t plan to give him a new contract. Despite Mr. Cuatro’s insatiable demand for being in the spotlight and his rocky relationship with the head coach, they have every intention of utilizing his talent and letting his contract play out for the remaining year.
At this point, you are quietly trying to work behind the scenes to fix the situation. Considering your history as an agent, you want to avoid another high profile saga and you will do whatever takes to make sure Cuatro is playing next season. While you would love to entertain the possibility of repeating the “next question” press conference and attracting a few more lucrative fast-food commercial appearances, another go-around of that circus could spell out the demise of your career.
Your primary duty is to make Mr. Cuatro happy, which means to get him in another uniform for next season (and that is a uniform that could appear in the playoffs for a change). However, your hands are really tied if the club will not trade him. You know that your client’s explosive personality could really blow up in your face and lead to a disastrous situation if you cannot meet his expectations.
What would you do…?
Update: I have been working very hard recently on www.AccessAthletes.com and am excited to roll out some exciting changes to the site in the next month. Please stay tuned…
4 replies on “What would you do…? (#5)”
I think this is where you have to play a little hard ball you threaten to have mr. Cuatro sit out the until his contract is over. That way they are forced to move him.
I forgot to preface the column. Usually, I like to make pure hypothetical situations up, but the Ocho Cinco contract situation is too relevant right now to bypass. Most of the facts are accurate, with exception to the slight change in name. I wanted to hear everybody’s feedback to see how Mr. Rosenhaus should handle this situation before it actually plays out.
Drew came and spoke at my law school last week and actually talked about this issue. You can’t expect him to play hard-ball and demand a trade, look how it worked out for Lance Briggs. You run the risk of not having your client traded and losing money. You also run the risk of getting traded and a team that you have good relations with not wanting to sign your clients anymore as your clients will be known for being able to choose their destinations as opposed to management.
derek why would he sit out it is the last year of his contract that is when a players salary is the highest, cuatro should play is butt off and at the end of the season he will get his reward