NFL Agent Recruitment Strategy

With Malcolm Jenkins coming to an agreement with the New Orleans Saints late Sunday night, the holdout party of 7 dropped to a smaller table of 6.  Those remaining unsigned, along with their representation are listed below:

• Aaron Curry, LB, Seattle Seahawks (4th overall pick) – Octagon
• Andre Smith, T, Cincinnati Bengals (6th overall pick) – GMG Sports (Alvin Keels)
• Eugene Monroe, T, Jacksonville Jaguars (8th overall pick) – 320 Sports
• B.J. Raji, DL, Green Bay Packers (9th overall pick) – Athletes First
• Michael Crabtree, WR, San Francisco 49ers (10th overall pick) – Maximum Sports (Eugene Parker)
• Aaron Maybin, DE, Buffalo Bills (11th overall pick) – BEST (Blue Equity)

Creative Artists Agency (CAA), the company with the most amount of first-round selections (9), has all of its clients in camp with Malcolm Jenkins putting pen to paper on a 5-year, $19 million deal.  While the rest of the agencies listed are hoping to get exorbitant contracts for their clients, to use the figures in their recruitment packages for the 2010 class of draft-eligible players, CAA can boast that not only did the company have the highest number of first-round picks, but got them all signed before other big companies like Athletes First and Octagon, small companies with 1 first-round pick like 320 Sports, and signed their boys for good money.  You better believe that Todd France of FAAM will be using the same strategy on the recruitment trail over the next year.

Which method will win out?  The agents who have their clients holdout/threaten to sit out a year well into training camp, or those who get their boys signed for good money and get their boys into camp before the middle of August?