Berrian doesn't have the leverage.

What did he do?

He's Olsen's agent too. Olsen was the first 1st-rounder to sign and he had previously said he did not want to hold out. So isn't that some proof that the agent in fact works for the player, and not the other way around?

Berrian may end up with quite a bit of leverage - I haven't seen the list yet of free agent WR's, but early word is that he'll be one of the best ones on that list.

I'd say so. Who knows how hard Rosie was pushing Olsen to sit to get a bigger contract. I'd like to think that Olsen said he wanted to be in camp no matter what.

It's when players believe the hype he sells that they become a problem. Hopefully the Briggs situation is a good deterrent.

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Now that's sad. What's Jerry Rice up to these days?

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Paws Up

A Michael Timpson in the making.

If his contract was up last season I'd agree. He needs play better than he has in the first 7 games if he wants to get paid. Think about how many drops he has had and he gave up on a few routes.

If you are considered to be a top free agent at what will end up being a thin position in free agency, somebody will pay up. All it takes is one team, and it may even be the Bears considering they don't have much behind him. Berrian has not taken the next step like I had anticipiated, but he's still on pace to be a 1,000 yard WR in a weak market. Plus, he's still only 27 years old when his contract is up - somebody will take a shot and pay him, if it isn't the Bears.

(I haven't confirmed this list yet, but some of the other free agents include Patrick Crayton and Bryant Johnson. Crayton isn't bad, but Berrian will get paid more than either of these guys, and if this list is really this bad, Berrian will get paid a lot of money)

He is fragile with bad hands. I 'd like to have him on the team but he is not and should not be payed like a #1 receiver.

Rosenhaus is the very definition of an agent- He will leverage the best possible position for you.

He will plant media stories for you. You have the edge that Rosenhaus has a huge stable of top players, that almost force the hand of every GM to deal with Drew regardless of what he says or does.

To make an enemy as a GM in any sport with any agent or other GM is foolish.

Kinda like another GM in another league.

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

No it doesn't. It's basic cartel behavior, but this time in the form of purchasing instead of supplying. The only way that he could be punished is if all 32 owners and all 32 GMs colluded to prevent a certain price from being reached for a player (which they can't do under NFL rules, but let's pretend that they can.) If 31 teams decide that they'll pay no more than X for player Y, that 32nd GM can pay X + 1 and get the player below what the natural market price will be, and his team will benefit immensely. At some point, one of the 31 will realize they're being screwed, and he'll go into competition with the one guy on the outside. There's no incentive to holding back.

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Fire Phil Emery

Olsen is the brightest spot on the Bears this year besides Hester. He is going to make the Pro Bowkl 6-7 times before alls said and done. What a great pick at 31.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

He will attempt to, but that doesn't mean he will be successful - look no further than his attempts to land a long-term deal for Lance Briggs last off-season.

Could they ? Maybe

Will they ? No, and there's not a big reason to. Owners have a hard cap which regulates their spending a lot more than, for example, baseball.

If there wasn't Rosenhaus anymore, another just like him would come around.

This argument is similar to the one in baseball every off-season when we all scream at the overspending some of these teams do. All it takes is one moronic team to blow the current market out of the water, and they never fail to come up with bad contracts every off-season.

It's not a matter of a "loophole." It's hard economic fact. If I can purchase a commodity at lower than proper market price, I'm going to do it. That's what would occur if all, or even most, of the owners ganged up and said "let's not sign any Rosenhaus players." There's no reward for holding with the "screw Rosenhaus plan, except maybe he won't be an agent anymore because players won't get his benefits, but then they'll just switch to an agent who DOES get those benfits.

General managers, especially in the NFL with the hard cap, are just as much market analyzers as they are talent evaluaters. That is, GMs must determine what values the market undervalues and overvalues and adjust his plans accordingly. If the market is undervaluing an entire class of players- that is, if their price is lower than it would be if the "Screw Rosenhaus" plan wasn't in effect"- then any GM worth hiring would jump on that opportunity, or he should be fired for not persuing the best interests of the team.

Also, I have confirmed that the action is not only against NFL rules but also illegal price collusion under Federal law. This article is only tangential, but it does discuss some of the issues well. The NFL does have a limited antitrust exemption, but this would definitely run afoul of federal antitrust regulations and could result in HUGE penalties for the NFL.

http://www.allbusiness.com/government/employment-regulations/1041671-1.html
So the "Screw Rosenhaus" plan is illegal, and the owners have absolutely no motivation to persue such a plan. Besides that, it's fine.

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Fire Phil Emery

Hmmm, sounds like the tallest midget....

That pays well.

See Davis, Leonard.

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Fire Phil Emery

**yawn

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Call me a commie or an anti-fan if you want, but I don't fault the players one bit for trying to get as much $$ as they can, by whatever legal tactic they can. They may only have one shot at the golden goose. Owners and the league do the same thing, i.e. 'maximizing their revenue streams' via painfully long time-outs, goofy jumbotron promotions, high ticket prices, $40 parking, etc...

You're not a commie. I'm about as libertarian as they come and I don't see a single thing wrong with it. As for being anti-fan, there's a simple solution to anyone whose viewing experience is so hampered by agents and players making as much money as possible- don't watch.

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Fire Phil Emery

First, you'd have to explain what he's doing wrong/illegal.

That's what the market decided they're worth.

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There is a reason those "under-educated idiots" make as much money as they do!
Only 1700 people out of 6 billion can play football at the level they play! Since their careers are so short and with injuries that might last a lifetime, they are paid accordingly!

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Winning covers a multitude of sins

commie

I believe that is closer to fascism than communism.

Yes, those...er us educated idiots spend millions of dollars to watch them

If it was Fascism....the players would be shot if they had a losing season!

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Winning covers a multitude of sins