Chris Long, the second overall pick in the NFL draft, reached agreement with the St. Louis Rams on...

Chris Long, the second overall pick in the NFL draft, reached agreement with the St. Louis Rams on Saturday night.

The financial terms of the five-year deal, with the option for a sixth, were not available. The Rams report to training camp at Concordia University in Mequon, Wis., on Thursday.

Comments

Okay

When does Dorsey get signed?

I guess before Saturday of this week.

by Chris Thorman on Jul 20, 2008 5:02 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

This is likely what Dorsey and his agent were waiting for.

I predict Dorsey is signed and in camp this week.

by dorsey on Jul 20, 2008 5:08 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Maybe

Peterson’s still in charge of negotiations. I predict Dorsey and Albert miss at least a week of training camp.

Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.

by UCrawford on Jul 21, 2008 1:14 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm resigned to Dorsey being one of the last rookie signings - maybe week three

I haven’t researched the agents, which will make a big difference, but I have to feel they will get Albert to camp by Monday. Dorsey could miss a week and it wouldn’t hurt him that much. Albert, however, needs to work with the line from the beginning.

I am not very hopeful about Dorsey being on time, given his leverage from the salary of the number 4 pick and the perspective that Dorsey was considered potentially the best player in the draft. Personality-wise, however, Dorsey seems more interested in getting to camp and getting after it.

by sunny D on Jul 21, 2008 9:26 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

It will be interesting to see

how much he lets his agent haggle with Peterson (assuming you are right about his personality)

by PVChiefsfan on Jul 21, 2008 11:14 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The cell phone calls

Between an agent and 22-year-old football playing client must be interesting…

“Glen! $55 million is just plain dispectful! Hang in there. You’re worth at least as much as _. I can get you another $2 million. You can do a lot with an extra $2 million, can’t you? You’ve got to show this team that you have self-respect and that you deserve to be treated fairly! You’re a good player, aren’t you Glen? You deserve to be paid what you’re worth, don’t you? This is a business now. Let me handle it. Two weeks of training camp is nothing compared to the biggest contract of your life!”

Really - financial security aside - this period of negotiation is a terrible influence in a lot of ways on a 22-year-old person’s life. No wonder some of these young people get so messed up.

by sunny D on Jul 21, 2008 1:16 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Flip Side Of That

“Glenn, I know you want to get into camp and I know the situation is frustrating, but you need to remember that careers in the NFL are short, that contracts aren’t guaranteed, and that you’re one bad hit or one fluke accident away from having to live off this contract for the rest of your life if you end up in a wheelchair. I’m your agent and it’s my job to take care of you, so I want to make sure you get the best possible value that you can…because your life will go on for a long time after you’re playing football and you never know what the future has in store in this job.”

Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.

by UCrawford on Jul 21, 2008 4:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

A kinder, gentler agent

But isn’t that argument more true when it comes to the 4th-7th rounders? I’d argue the difference between $800,000 and $900,000 is more important to that person than the difference between $55 million and $60 million.

Agents need to help their client understand the difference between guaranteed money and all the other big-number hype. The good agents serve an important purpose. But the agents squeezing for the added 1-2 million are much more interested in 1) the added money in their pocket and 2) how they can show next year’s crop how they got their client more than the bracketed amount.

In the upcoming owner/player agreement, seems to me that both players (current) and owners have a stake in reducing the amounts paid to draft choices, as well as going toward more of a bracketed here’s-what-you-get system. It distributes the money more fairly among all the players, and especially second contract players – the 26-28 year olds who are proven stars. And reduces some of the ugliness that’s part of the NFL.

And in the big picture, let’s get some agents for the coal workers, Marines, police officers, fire fighters, deep sea fishermen and so on. Yes, an NFL job has it’s downside, but at some point I lose my compassion for people sitting out with the type of salaries they’re talking about.

by sunny D on Jul 21, 2008 4:58 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's As True For Any Of Them

The agent’s job is to get top dollar for his clients in any situation. The only reason a 4th-7th rounder isn’t holding out for $6 million guaranteed is because they know there’s not a shot in hell that player’s getting that contract.

But the agents squeezing for the added 1-2 million are much more interested in 1) the added money in their pocket and 2) how they can show next year’s crop how they got their client more than the bracketed amount.

There’s nothing wrong with either of those things. It is not the agent’s job to look out for the teams’ financial interests, he is responsible for the player’s interests and his own (it’s a symbiotic relationship). It is the teams’ job to look out for themselves, and that’s why we have negotiations…so both sides reach a compromise to balance competing interests out.

In the upcoming owner/player agreement, seems to me that both players (current) and owners have a stake in reducing the amounts paid to draft choices

Unless you’re a draftee…then it’s not in your interests at all. Especially if you’re unfortunate enough to suffer career-ending (and possibly crippling) injuries before you get to the point where the veterans deem you worthy enough to have a bigger contract.

Don’t get fooled by the whole “rookies are getting paid too much” smokescreen. The NFL is a futures market and the rookies are getting paid what they’re worth…and that would still be the same in a free market. Veterans are often paid less because their futures aren’t as bright as the rookies’. The veterans are backing rookie salary limits because they’re trying to fatten their own pockets and protect their own jobs at the expense of new players. It’s just a form of economic protectionism.

let’s get some agents for the coal workers, Marines, police officers, fire fighters, deep sea fishermen and so on

Most of those groups (except the Marines) already have agents…they’re called unions.

Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.

by UCrawford on Jul 21, 2008 6:52 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Actually

Military servicemen (and women) also have plenty of organizations that lobby for them, so they’ve kind of got agents too. In fact, I bought my house largely thanks to the perks that pro-military lobbyists got for veterans :)

Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.

by UCrawford on Jul 21, 2008 6:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs