CAA Football agents lead in first-rounders, but similarities to past NFL drafts end there

CAA Football agents Tom Condon and Ben Dogra led all agents again this year by representing five players in the first round of the NFL draft, but it is a very different year for the powerful agent tandem, who represent more than 100 players in the NFL.

GETTY IMAGES A.J. Green, picked at No. 4 by the Bengals, was the first of five CAA clients in Round 1.

“I think you had to consider there was a possibility there would be a system change,” said Condon, who with Dogra has negotiated many of the largest NFL rookie contracts.

Dogra said, “We did not recruit as many players this year as in years past due to the uncertainty. But even in years past we limit the number of players we recruit, and this year we lessened that by another 25 percent.”

“We started really late and we did not cast a wide net,” Condon said. In fact, four of the five players they represented in the first round were “true juniors,” meaning that Condon and Dogra could not talk to them until after Dec. 3, under the former union’s “junior rule.” The one senior that CAA Football represented, Boston College offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo, was selected No. 22 by the Indianapolis Colts (see chart).

Other sports agencies also had strong draft classes, notably Athletes First, which represented four of the first 17 players taken, including the No. 2 overall pick, linebacker Von Miller, selected by the Denver Broncos.

As SportsBusiness Journal reported last fall, a number of successful NFL agents concentrated on expanding their roster of veterans and pulled back on college recruiting efforts because of lockout-related uncertainty. CAA was among them. “We decided we were going to make a concerted effort to look at the veteran side of the business, and we did that this year,” Dogra said.

In the last six months, Dogra and Condon have signed Oakland Raiders tight end Zach Miller and Atlanta Falcons cornerback Brent Grimes, both Pro Bowlers. They also signed New York Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie, Arizona Cardinals defensive end Calais Campbell and Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Barry Richardson.

Although it was a good draft for CAA Football, it wasn’t their best. In 2009, Condon and Dogra represented nine of the first 19 players selected, including No. 1 and No. 2.

CAA had represented the No. 1 overall pick for six of the last seven years, but did not this year. Cam Newton is represented by Bus Cook of BC Sports and Tony Paige and Chitta Mallik of Perennial Sports.

Dogra, who had represented or co-represented the most picks individually every year since 2004, saw that streak broken this year. He represented four picks but was beaten by partner Condon, who represented five. (Condon is the sole agent for Castonzo.)

“You never want to lose, but if you lose, you want to lose to the best in the business,” Dogra said.