In what may be the fastest ascension of a sports agent in years, Mike Conley Sr. has a real chance of representing the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft after representing the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft last year.
Although not an NFL Players Association-certified agent, Conley will be the lead agent representing Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, who has been the most-talked-about NFL draft prospect in agent circles. Conley was officially announced as McFadden’s marketing agent and Ian Greengross as the running back’s NFL contract agent last week. McFadden has retained athlete attorney David Cornwell as his legal adviser.
It is widely thought that the Miami Dolphins, who hold the No. 1 pick in the draft, will not select a running back. But there has been growing media speculation that the Dolphins may trade the pick to another team, the Dallas Cowboys being the most mentioned, because of the interest in McFadden.
Conley became a National Basketball Players Association-certified agent last year to represent his son, Mike Conley Jr., and his son’s close friend and teammate at Ohio State, Greg Oden, the No. 4 and No. 1 picks, respectively, in the 2007 NBA draft.
Conley has deep roots in Arkansas, where he played basketball and ran track for the Razorbacks before going to the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 and winning the silver medal in the triple jump. (Conley won the gold in the event at Barcelona in 1992.)
Not only is there a life-size statue of the elder Conley on the Arkansas campus, but Conley started a youth basketball program in Arkansas, called the Hard at Work Kids, that one of McFadden’s brothers played in.
Conley’s brother, Steven Conley, played defensive end for the Razorbacks and went on to play in the NFL.
Conley began to talk to McFadden’s parents, who are divorced and live in Little Rock, about two years ago, at a time, he says, when he had only started thinking about becoming an agent. Over time, Conley says, he became not only an adviser to the family but a contender for Darren McFadden’s marketing representation.
Mike Conley made his name in track and field but
now has two top NBA clients and is marketing
agent to NFL prospect Darren McFadden (left).
The competition to represent McFadden for marketing was a roller-coaster ride for four agents who specialize in off-the-field representation: Conley, Mike Ornstein, Jamey Crimmins and Bill Henkel. Sources said that each of the agents traded front-runner status and some were actually told they were hired, only to be fired soon after being selected.
“I was on the periphery and I will say the McFaddens did change their minds for different reasons,” Conley said. “I don’t want to go into the reasons. For different reasons they selected someone and for different reasons they changed their minds. And that is not to say the reasons weren’t valid.”
Many NFLPA-certified agents felt they never had a real chance to sign the player because they were not allowed to speak with him until Jan. 19 under the union’s new “junior rule,” which banned contact with true juniors like McFadden during the school year. Conley says the rule may have affected McFadden’s agent search, as well as his selection of training facilities.
Because certified agents, who typically pay for a top NFL prospect’s precombine training, could not speak to McFadden, he ended up training at the Nike-sponsored Michael Johnson Performance Center in the Dallas area, on Nike’s tab. Conley acknowledges McFadden may very well have trained somewhere else if agents were allowed to speak to him and sign him earlier. (Conley said he is talking to Nike, Adidas and Reebok about a shoe deal for McFadden and was not close to a deal last week.)
Additionally, the junior rule may also have affected McFadden’s search for a contract agent, as he chose to stay and train at the Michael Johnson center rather than be present at his own agent interview process in Little Rock in late January. Conley and McFadden’s mother, father and stepmother all interviewed Fletcher Smith, Lamont Smith, James “Bus” Cook, Terry Watson, Angelo Wright and Greengross for the job of contract adviser.
The running back told his parents, according to Conley, “I want to concentrate on training and football and I want you to do it.” Conley added, “I think it is unfair for parents to be put in a situation where they have to make a decision in a short period of time.”
The parents picked Greengross. “Ian convinced them that he is good at contracts. He is good at numbers,” Conley said.
Greengross has recently sprung into the ranks of agents representing high NFL picks after representing Colts running back Joseph Addai, who was selected 30th overall in the 2006 draft, and co-representing Houston Texans defensive tackle Amobi Okoye, the No. 10 pick last year, with CAA Sports agents Leon Rose and Darin Morgan.
Greengross opened his own practice in 2003 after working for seven years for former NFL player agent Steve Zucker as a salary cap specialist. Last year he merged his practice with agents and brothers Ken and Jimmy Sarnoff and called the new firm Marquee Sports Management.
Greengross said he doesn’t mind not being the lead agent in McFadden’s representation. “When I walked into the meeting, Mike was there, David Cornwell was there. I knew it would be a team situation. I said, ‘Look, I would do the contract and if that is all you needed me for, that is all I would do.’”
Early last week, Greengross said he had not yet talked to teams about their interest in trading up to get McFadden. But, he said, he did talk to a few NFL team people before his interview for the job.
“I can’t tell you what teams I talked to,” he said. “But let’s just say the people I talked to, people who were in a position to rate him as a player, said he is clearly the best player in the draft.”
Notable NFL prospect signings
Rosenhaus Sports
Kenny Phillips, Miami
Kevin Smith, Central Florida
CAA Sports
Jonathan Stewart, Oregon
Tashard Choice, Georgia Tech
Kenny Iwebema, Iowa
Athletes First
Jamaal Charles, Texas
Kenny Phillips of Miami will be repped by
the Rosenhaus firm.
ROSENHAUS SIGNS PROSPECTS: Rosenhaus Sports has signed Miami safety Kenny Phillips, a projected first-round pick, for representation.
The agency, run by brothers and agents Drew and Jason Rosenhaus, also signed Central Florida running back Kevin Smith, who led the nation in rushing in 2007. Phillips is ranked No. 13 and Smith is ranked No. 67 by Web site NFLDraftBlitz.com.
In other signings:
CAA SPORTS: The firm added more clients, including Oregon running back Jonathan Stewart, in what is turning out to be a stellar class of players for this year’s draft.
Additionally, CAA Sports signed Georgia Tech running back Tashard Choice and Iowa defensive end Kenny Iwebema. NFLDraftBlitz.com ranks Stewart at No. 25, Choice at 129 and Iwebema at No. 187.
ATHLETES FIRST: The firm signed Texas running back Jamaal Charles, ranked No. 54 by NFLDraftBlitz.com.
PRIORITY SIGNS WILLIAMS: Priority Sports & Entertainment has signed Cincinnati Bengals safety Madieu Williams, who will be an unrestricted free agent later this year, for representation.
“Madieu is a great football player and person, the kind of guy we typically represent,” said Priority agent Kenny Zuckerman, who will be Williams’ primary agent. “He will attract a lot of interest in the free agent market. Also, a weak college safety market will add to his already existing value.”
THREE FOR ARLUCK: Arluck Promotions, a Miami Beach, Fla.-based agency that specializes in representing Olympians, has signed swimming gold medalists Jenny Thompson and Matt Biondi and track gold medalist Gail Devers for representation in Beijing.
Biondi and Thompson are retired, but Devers is still in training for the Olympic trials and will compete in her sixth Olympics if she makes the U.S. team. Agent David Arluck is in talks with both Olympic and non-Olympic sponsors about endorsements and other deals for the three Olympians.
Liz Mullen can be reached at lmullen@sportsbusinessjournal.com.
