Agent Jim Steiner is considered "fair and extremely
ethical," but his representation of the Lions' two first-round
draft picks this year has raised the issue of whether, "in this
age of the salary cap and the rookie wage pool," it's "kosher"
for one agent to represent two draft picks from the same team,
according to Paul Domowitch of the PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS.
Lions Exec VP Chuck Schmidt: "He has a clear conflict of
interest. We had a certain amount of money to work with. If you
give it to one [of his clients], chances are it takes from the
other one." Agent Leigh Steinberg: "It's a system that pits
rookies against other rookies for a share of the pie. ... The
reality is that the only effective way to sign a standout first-
round contract is by raiding the natural pool allocation of the
lower draft picks." Agent Brad Blank notes, "But you can't
really be in this business as a full-timer unless you have
multiple clients on the same team." NFLPA Assistant Exec Dir
Doug Allen: "It's an issue that's been talked about a lot. But
it's not a violation of the rules governing certified contract
advisors (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 9/20).
