A good friend of PFT pointed out an intriguing item regarding the quarterback depth chart with the Miami Dolphins.
John Beck is represented by Justin Schulman. And rookie Chad Henne is represented by . . . Justin Schulman.
It’s not the same kind of conflict of interest that Schulman had in representing quarterbacks Brian Brohm and Henne simultaneously. As Brohm slid and Henne climbed in the weeks leading up to the draft, Schulman could as a practical matter do neither man justice, since he couldn’t aggressively sell one of them to a team that might need a quarterback without implicitly hurting the interests of the other.
In the end, Brohm was drafted one spot ahead of Henne.
In the Dolphins’ case, Schulman could find himself caught in the middle if/when Henne is miffed that he isn’t getting a fair shot at competing with Beck, or vice-versa. Absent acrimony between the players, Schulman also won’t be able to lobby his contacts with the Dolphins for Beck to be the starter, since to do so will hurt Henne. In turn, Schulman can’t pester the Fins about taking a chance with Henne, since that would harm Beck.
This type of situation isn’t unprecedented, but it’s definitely rare. Four years ago, some league observers believed that Tom Condon helped steer Eli Manning away from the Chargers because Condon represents Drew Brees, who at the time was the starter there.
In Atlanta, Joby Branion represents Chris Redman and Joey Harrington — and it’s possible that one of them (at a minimum) is in trouble following the selection of Matt Ryan. If, in the end, Redman and Harrington are competing for the same roster spot, neither will have an agent who can argue behind the scenes for one of them to remain employed.
Ditto for the Bucs, where Brian Griese and Bruce Gradkowski are playing musical chairs with several other quarterbacks for however many roster spots coach Jon Gruden ultimately devotes to the position. Griese and Gradkowski are represented by Ralph Cindrich.
In many cases of this nature, one of the quarterbacks or the other will get a new agent. For Beck-Henne, Harrington-Redman, and Griese-Gradkowski, it might be the only way to ensure that each guy has at his service an agent who can do everything in his power to help his client emerge with the better part of the situation.
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April 29th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
I love your created controversies… This is absolutely a non-issue.
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April 29th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Let me guess… Different agents specialize, by design or default, in representing players who play certain positions…
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April 29th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
I understand they may have the same agent, but what does it really matter? It’s not like Schulman has any influence on who Parcells picks to play. Maybe I’m naive, but are there any really teams who keep players on their roster because an agent lobbies them to? That seems like a way to lose games
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April 29th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Immediately after being drafted, ESPN interviews Brian Brohm then Chad Henne:
Trey Wingo: Did you meet John Beck when you visited Miami?
Chad Henne: No, I met him because we have the same agent.
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April 29th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Honestly, if Henne believes that his agent does indeed have a conflict of interest in this case, he can simply fire the agent and hire a new one. Either that, or ask that whatever agency his agent works for assign a new agent to handle his deal. Im certain this isnt the only case in the NFL of an agent having multiple players at the same position on the same team. It does make for interesting reading though…
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April 29th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
No coaches or general managers listen to agents when it comes to personnel decisions. Football teams are not stupid (well most of them are not anyway).
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April 29th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
Florio, I think you’re over estimating the effects that an AGENT can have on where his clients get drafted, and his chances of starting. Do you think Parcells will take anything the agent says into consideration when it comes to playing time? Me neither….
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April 30th, 2008 at 5:07 am
Schulman is going to be absolutely beside himself when he has to collect 10% of Henne’s new contract, I’m sure.
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April 30th, 2008 at 8:30 am
Why would a team give two “Dookie” Davenports about what an agent thinks about the playing time his client should get? An agent takes a position on football only to set the value on the dollars his client gets paid. After that the team evaluates what they see at practice and play whoever the heck they want. The agent should be irrelevant at that point.
If there are teams actually listening to agents in this regard then that explains why these teams are perennial doormats.
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