When NFL free agency starts, the free agents are typically not the only ones who are looking for a new contract. A handful of players who have years left on their current deals are bound to decide that they've "out-performed the contract." Some of these players will decide to politely request a new deal or a raise, with no intention of doing anything in retaliation should they not get what they want.What many fans don't necessarily know is that a lot of the rumblings start at the Pro Bowl.
Andrew Brandt is a former vice president with the Green Bay Packers. He now writes for the National Football Post. Late last week, he posted a very interesting piece on how star players can be influenced by agents and their peers at the Pro Bowl in Hawaii.
There is no other gathering on the calendar of NFL mega-talents like there is in Hawaii the first week of February. Because of that, there are also plenty of agents, advisers, enablers and hangers-on. The "whisper crews" are out in full force, whispering in players' ears about how their team is not treating them right, how they are underpaid, how their agent should be fired based on his lack of aggressiveness in pursuing a better contract, better treatment, etc.Brandt goes on to say that Drew Rosenhaus was always a huge presence at the Pro Bowl (surprise!). He also adds that in the cases of McKenzie and Walker, they almost immediately began to crow about wanting out of Green Bay for whatever reason.
The ringleaders of the whisper crews at the Pro Bowl are usually agents, using the trip as a productive way to spend time amidst the cream of the crop of NFL stars, many poised to cash in significantly in the coming weeks, months or years.
... In different years, I experienced the post-Pro Bowl dissatisfaction from players such as Mike McKenzie, Ahman Green, Javon Walker and Donald Driver.
While I fully understand how a guy who worked as a "capologist" could find this incredibly annoying, it's the nature of the business. Players are going to talk to each other about what they're making and how they're being treated. It's natural in a business so wrought with ego. These athletes want to know that they're making as much as other players they feel have the same talents. All it takes is one guy being severely overvalued before the market goes crazy.
Brandt was very, very good at his job in Green Bay. He did great work in helping the Packers get out of a bad salary cap situation very quickly a few years ago, and part of it was his ability to take a hard line in contract negotiations. While the organization might have a reputation among some for being cheap when it comes to giving out raises and re-doing deals, the reality is that Green Bay has taken care of a number of guys over the years, and they'll continue to do so. What they aren't going to do is foolishly throw money at players they feel are overvalued on the market.
