Veteran agent
Peter Schaffer will spend the next few months trying to prove to NFL clubs that one of his clients can come back from a broken leg and that another one didn’t kill his dog.
Schaffer is the agent for Terrence Cody, who played nose tackle for the Baltimore Ravens until the club announced late last month that it was releasing him. Media reports speculated that Cody was cut in part because he was under investigation for animal abuse, although he has not been arrested or charged.
Schaffer, founder and president of Authentic Athletix, is also the agent for Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday, who was leading the nation in passing touchdowns, passing yards and completions until he fractured his right leg in early November.
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Halliday is seeking a comeback, while Jones (below with Schaffer) has already made one.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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Besides Halliday, Schaffer is representing in this year’s draft Florida State defensive end Mario Edwards Jr., Louisville safety
Gerod Holliman, Notre Dame College nose tackle
Doniel Gambrell Jr., Kansas cornerback
Dexter McDonald and Syracuse linebacker
Dyshawn Davis.
John Rickert, an agent who works for Authentic Athletix, is representing Florida defensive tackle
Leon Orr, Coastal Carolina offensive tackle
Joe Kaleta and Southern Connecticut State defensive tackle
Carlif Taylor.
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Photo by: ALISON SCHAFFER
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Edwards is seen as a potential first- or second-round pick, but many, including ESPN draft analyst
Todd McShay, don’t give Halliday much of a chance of being drafted. NFL.com draft analyst
Gil Brandt says if Halliday’s leg is healed, he has a chance to be a late-round pick.
Schaffer said Halliday, who is 6-4 and 230 pounds, will be drafted, and not necessarily in a late round, either. “Look at his body of work and his productivity and his size and the need for quarterbacks in this league,” he said, adding, “There are scouts who really like this young man.”
Halliday, a fifth-year senior, broke the NCAA single-game passing record last season, throwing for 734 yards against Cal in early October, before breaking his leg in a game against USC. Halliday had thrown for 3,873 yards in 2014 until his college career was cut short by nearly four regular-season games, and was poised to make a run at the record for passing yards in a season.
Halliday is out of a cast and boot and should be ready to work out in his pro day in late March or April, his agent said.
Meanwhile, Schaffer has been busy trying to clear the name of Cody, telling the media that Cody did not cause the death of his bullmastiff, but, in fact, took the dog to the veterinarian.
“It turns out the dog died of worms,” Schaffer said. “He has done absolutely nothing wrong. This is a direct correlation to the NFL’s overreaction to the Ray Rice situation, where they are trampling all over due process and the individual rights of employees and players. The rush to judgment is nauseating.”
Schaffer admits that it is almost comical that he is talking to the media about his client’s dog, but the allegation could adversely affect Cody’s value in the NFL free agent market in March. And, as media scrutiny intensifies on athletes, and especially NFL players, the agent’s job has become more complicated.
“Players are under such an extreme microscope now,” said Schaffer, an attorney who first started representing NFL players in 1989.
Schaffer has represented other players who have been able to turn a negative situation into a positive one. Four years ago, Schaffer signed Adam “Pacman” Jones as a client. “He was the poster child for everything that was wrong with the league,” Schaffer said. Last month, Jones, a return specialist for the Cincinnati Bengals, was voted, at 31 years old, first team All-Pro.
An agent’s job goes far beyond signing the best talent and negotiating lucrative contracts, Schaffer said. “We are here to help players in their careers, and what form and what style that comes in, you just never know. And you just have to roll with the punches.”
Liz Mullen can be reached at lmullen@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @SBJLizMullen.
