BillsFever
07-14-2003, 12:27 AM
A league source tells us that No. 3 overall pick Andre Johnson, who fired agent Jeff Moorad in May, currently plans to rely on his uncle, Andre Melton, to negotiate his contract -- and they'll hire a low-profile, no-name agent to officially sign the deal, at an extremely reduced fee.
With a glut of registered agents -- and plenty of them with no clients -- Johnson and Melton readily will be able to find a guy who thinks that he can use his "representation" of the former Miami receiver as a stepping stone to recruiting future clients.
Still, folks around the league think that the entire strategy is flawed. Surely, Johnson will save money on his deal via a reduced agent fee -- but will the inexperienced Melton be able to get the best deal possible for his nephew?
Melton likely assumes that the slotting process will make it easy to pinpoint the proper terms of the contract, but it ain't that easy. There are many nuances that a newbie doesn't know about, and an agent who's hired merely because he's been certified won't be in a position to help Melton avoid the pitfalls.
There are other examples of this phenomenon. A league source shared with us details regarding player who decided to go it alone. He saved $50,000 in agent fees -- but the source is convinced that the player would've gotten $500,000 more, if he'd used a skilled agent.
http://profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm
With a glut of registered agents -- and plenty of them with no clients -- Johnson and Melton readily will be able to find a guy who thinks that he can use his "representation" of the former Miami receiver as a stepping stone to recruiting future clients.
Still, folks around the league think that the entire strategy is flawed. Surely, Johnson will save money on his deal via a reduced agent fee -- but will the inexperienced Melton be able to get the best deal possible for his nephew?
Melton likely assumes that the slotting process will make it easy to pinpoint the proper terms of the contract, but it ain't that easy. There are many nuances that a newbie doesn't know about, and an agent who's hired merely because he's been certified won't be in a position to help Melton avoid the pitfalls.
There are other examples of this phenomenon. A league source shared with us details regarding player who decided to go it alone. He saved $50,000 in agent fees -- but the source is convinced that the player would've gotten $500,000 more, if he'd used a skilled agent.
http://profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm