One of the things that we do here at PFT is keep a keen eye on the intriguing business issues that can arise in the business of the sport we love.  And one of the more compelling twists and turns that can come up relates to the concept of conflict of interest.

With agencies merging and combining and agents representing players and coaches and front-office people, there are plenty of eyebrow-raising circumstances that come up from time to time.

Here’s one to ponder.  Many league observers believe that the signing of running back Julius Jones by the Seahawks means that Shaun Alexander will be traded or released.  (Given his high salary and declining production, the more likely outcome is that he’ll be cut.)

Alexander is represented by CAA.  And Jones is represented by (you guessed it) CAA.

So, basically, one CAA agent was recently negotiating a free-agent contract for one firm client under circumstances that any reasonable person with basic knowledge of the NFL business should have realized would result in the inability of another CAA client to continue to get paid.

We’re not sure what if anything the NFLPA should do to protect players from this type of a situation.  At a minimum, Alexander should consider advice that recently appeared on the union’s web site regarding knowing when the time has come to make a change.