Hall of Fame tight end and broadcaster Kellen Winslow Sr., who is advising his son, Miami tight end Kellen Winslow Jr., on his search for an agent, has a message for this year's NFL draft prospects: You don't need to sign with an agent right away and you don't need to pay top dollar.
"Anyone who is paying 3 percent for contract negotiation I can tell you is being ripped off," Winslow said. NFL player agents can charge a maximum of 3 percent of the contract's value as part of their negotiation fee under NFL Players Association regulations.
Winslow said that top players who sign with agents as soon as they have lost their college eligibility are being hasty. "They have decided [to sign with an agent] because agents have sold them a bag of goods of what they can do for them," he said.
Winslow noted that many agents tell players they can help them get loans. But Winslow said that the truth is that top draft prospects can go "by themselves" to any major bank with a private banking group and get their own loans.
Agents also tell players they need an agent when they go to the NFL combine, but Winslow says that isn't true.
"All an agent can do for you at the combine is to run around and use your name so they can recruit other players," Winslow said. "I have had a couple of agents call me already and tell me who they represent."
Winslow briefly was an NFL player agent after his playing days ended but said he did not like the career. "I don't deal in lies and I don't deal in supposition, and that was not a place to help people," he said. (Winslow is no longer a certified agent.)
Winslow said his son will eventually hire an agent, but he would not say when. "Sometime in the near future we will take presentations from agents," he said. "We are in no rush."
IN THE FLESCH: PGA Tour player Steve Flesch is the latest athlete to endorse a product that he is already using for a medical condition.
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Flesch signed a deal with Dermik Laboratories to promote Carac Cream, which is used to treat a condition known as actinic keratosis, which are lesions on the skin that can be a precursor to skin cancer.
David Winkle, executive vice president at Dallas-based golf agency Hambric Sports Management, said both he and Flesch suffer from actinic keratosis, and that Flesch found Carac on his own and recommended it to his agent.
Winkle called Dermik Laboratories to pitch Flesch as a perfect fit as spokesman for the product. Company officials agreed and are planning to use Flesch at some PGA Tour events this year to get the word out about sun exposure and skin cancer.
"The neat thing about [the deal] is it's not just selling a product, you are doing something for the human good," Winkle said.
"Steve felt strongly about the product. He can look people in the eye and say, 'This has worked for me.'"
NFL PROSPECTS PICK SEGAL: NFL player agent Joel Segal and his New York-based company, Worldwide Football Inc., are having a big year.
In addition to signing Atlanta Falcons superstar Michael Vick recently after Vick fired Octagon, Segal also has signed some top 2004 NFL draft prospects.
Segal has signed Ohio State defensive end Will Smith, University of Florida tight end Ben Troupe and Ohio State wide receiver Michael Jenkins. Smith was No. 7 and Troupe was No. 11 on a recent listing of the top 25 picks in this year's draft compiled by draft prognosticator Mel Kiper Jr.
SFX ADDS GOLFER: SFX Sports Group has signed former University of Nebraska standout golfer Scott Gutschewski for representation in all management and marketing endeavors.
Gutschewski finished last year 26th on the Nationwide money list, playing in only 12 of that tour's 30 events, and narrowly missed his PGA Tour card for 2004. Nationwide players who finish in the top 20 on the money list automatically get a PGA Tour card for the next year.
"Scott Gutschewski is a very gifted player, with a unique combination of prodigious length and a great short game," said Brad Buffoni of SFX Golf, who will be Gutschewski's primary agent. "We are very excited to work with Scott."
Contact Liz Mullen with labor and agent news at lmullen@sportsbusinessjournal.com.
