Rival NFL agents representing large blocks of NFL players, including some of the top players in the league, have been in contact with each other in the last two days and are trying to schedule a meeting to talk about what some see as a potential threat to their business, agents said. Agents who compete against each other and rarely speak have been talking in the wake of a USA Today story published Tuesday night which reported that the NFLPA Board of Player Reps "passed a resolution to form a committee to re-examine agent fees, educate incoming rookies on options and look into creating an in-house resource to negotiate contracts and/or advise players on doing their own deals."
The story focused on Seahawks OT Russell Okung's plans to negotiate his own deal without an agent and the union's efforts to help him in the process. Multiple agents said they were caught by surprise by the news, as they were given no notice from the NFLPA that such a resolution was passed at the union's annual meetings in March. The story has galvanized agents who compete fiercely with each other to put their differences aside and talk with each other, agents from rival firms said.
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"The goal is to get all the top 10 (NFL representation) firms together," said an agent at one such firm. "We are going to reach out to each other to make sure some of these inaccurate and borderline ridiculous assertions don't gain momentum or credibility," said an agent at another firm of the plan for agents to meet.
Agents requested anonymity, noting that the NFLPA had the ability to determine which agents are certified to negotiate with NFL clubs. Although these two rival agents said they planned to meet, it is not clear how many others would do so and what plan of action, if any, the agents might take if they are able to schedule a meeting. NFLPA President Eric Winston and NFLPA Assistant Exec Dir of External Affairs George Atallah did not return phone calls.
Agent Drew Rosenhaus said he was not concerned about the story or any plan to eliminate agents. "It's much to do about nothing," said Rosenhaus, who represents more than 100 players in the NFL. "I had one call from another agent who wanted to get my perspective on this. It's not like there is any mass hysteria," Rosenhaus said.
