There’s a mounting buzz in league circles that the agency representing Michigan left tackle Jake Long, Ohio State defensive end/linebacker Vernon Gholston, and Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan is mired in multiple layers of conflict of interest regarding the potential negotiation of a contract with the Miami Dolphins for the first overall pick in the draft. Tom Condon of CAA represents Long and Ryan; Ben Dogra of CAA has Gholston. The problem, as we’ve mentioned a couple of times (or more) in the past, is that there is a natural tension between the player’s desire to maximize his rookie contract and the agency’s desire to avoid doing what is perceived in agent circles to be a bad deal. Agents are notorious for their negative recruiting tactics. Condon and Dogra would be haunted for years if either of them does a contract at No. 1 that results in less money than what the first overall pick received a year ago. For Jake Long, who has gotten the first crack at doing a deal but whose window of opportunity will at some point slam shut, he needs to assess the situation from the perspective of what he’ll get if he doesn’t take the offer at No. 1. But this presumes that Long even knows what is going on. Because the team is required per the Collective Bargaining Agreement to deal exclusively with Condon, the Fins have no way of knowing for sure that the agent is communicating the offers to the kid, or that the agent is explaining the situation to Long with Long’s interests first and foremost in mind. And what if the Fins pull the plug on talks with Long and move on to Gholston? Dogra will be in a tough spot, too. If he does a deal, Long might ask some tough questions on the back end about why an agreement was reached for Gholston and not for him. If Dogra resists, Gholston (like Long) then stands to make a lot less at No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, etc. It is accepted in agent circles that firms will shy away from representing the top players at the same position. It’s virtually impossible in such situations for the agent to promote one of his clients to a team that has a need at that position, because he’ll necessarily be hurting his other client in doing so. GOOD READ LINK to rest of story http://www.profootballtalk.com/2008/04/17/caa-mired-in-conflicts-of-interest/
The message here seems to be that the # 1 pick is getting the shaft because his agent is money hungry. It's to bad because they deserve better; thats for sure.
The real conflict of interest is the player is focused on HIS contract, and the agent is focused on what other contracts this one will bring in.
I didnt know those two were represented by the same agency, to me thats why they went to Gholston next to get these two addressed at the same time becuse if J Long says no Gholston will also.
For Jake Long, who has gotten the first crack at doing a deal but whose window of opportunity will at some point slam shut, he needs to assess the situation from the perspective of what he’ll get if he doesn’t take the offer at No. 1. But this presumes that Long even knows what is going on. Because the team is required per the Collective Bargaining Agreement to deal exclusively with Condon, the Fins have no way of knowing for sure that the agent is communicating the offers to the kid, or that the agent is explaining the situation to Long with Long’s interests first and foremost in mind. wow I didn't know that... That sounds unfair to the player he left out in the cold about his contract
This whole thing is a mess, the NFL needs to slap down a set salary scale for rookies yesterday. That the money "needs" to go up ever year is insane and moronic-its unsustainable. It puts the players and agents in bad situations, exacerbated all the more when one or the other decides to be a greedy bastard. The amount of money teams are spewing toward untested players is getting out of hand. We have talks about teams passing on picks, trying desperately to trade away, forcing players into taking lesser contracts-all because of the massive damage having a top pick go bust on them and flush millions down the ****ter. The draft is supposed to help the teams with the lowest amount of talent pick from the best out there. Thats sadly becoming less and less the case as contracts become more and more prohibitive. Teams cant shrug off a bad pick from a monetary standpoint anywhere near as easily as a talent standpoint. Want to bring in a FA to make up for it? Sorry, your money is tied up in some sorry *** bench sitter. Want to trade for another first rounder? Better not let the same thing happen to you again, safter to stay in the lower parts! This is one issue the NFL needs to get a grip on, NOW.
Anything within the realm of reality is possible; but there is a significant difference between possibility ad probability. For Condon to fail to communicate accurately the entirety of his dealings with teams to his client is unethical and would be grounds for any or all of the following: censure by the organization that governs his profession; a ban by the NFL - which would likely be honored by the other pro sports league; civil action by the client, and possibly a class-action suit by a number of his clientele; and possibly criminal penalties, depending on whether a DA/Grand Jury found grounds for a fraud indictment. No amount of money or prestige would be worth Condon's malfeasance in these terms.
I'm not so sure I like the sounds of things after reading this article. It almost makes it sound like were screwed right out of the gate trying to work out anything fair and reasonable here to sign Long or Gholston. I definately dont like the fact that we cant discuss the contract with the player, and it has to go through the agent. Thats ridiculous. That means the player may never hear a deal that we offer if the agent thinks its no good.
I think the message is, the draft has nothing to do with what the player may or may not want and the final decision may or may not be in the best interest of the player, but the Agent , the agents firm and the team drafting the player. It makes me sick to think someone who's never played a down in the NFL will get more money handed to them then it takes to run a small third world country. No player on the planet is worth what these football players are being paid. I hope it changes and it changes soon. 99% of the people I know live their lives just fine off an avg. of 55,000 dollars a year per spouse. There's no reason football players need an quarterly paycheck in the 2.5 to 3 million dollar range when they already have their 20 million dollar signing bonus sitting in the bank collecting more interest in one year then I make in 5 years of work. Wheres the perspective...this is insane.
I can't really speak for any of these guys. But I will say that I would have to be a real dumbass to not be right on top of my agent at this time of year. But hey, that's just me.
