Agent Talk Leading Up to the NFL Draft

We are just an hour away from the beginning of the 2008 NFL Draft. Here are some good reads to check out before the show kicks off.

Choosing an agent, players say, can be difficult because, as former CU guard Brian Daniels of the Minnesota Vikings warned, “They’re all going to tell you what you want to hear.” - Denver Post

[Paul] Lawrence, who lives in Everett, is an agent for Maximum Sports Management in Indiana, and eight players slotted to be picked in the first two rounds Saturday are MSM clients. “I’m almost excited as they are,” said Lawrence, whose agency represents five players expected to go in the first round alone. “These are like my little brothers now. I know what the critics were saying about them and all that they’ve gone through.” - The Daily Herald

“There’s a conflict of interest at the top of the draft,” says Scott Wright, a long-time draft follower who runs the website www.drafthistory.com. Wright’s ire is focused on CAA Sports, which represents three players projected to go in the top eight or nine picks. According to the NFL Players Association, 23 separate agencies represented the first-round class in 2000. By 2007, that number was reduced by just one. This year, though, the number shrunk to just 18 agencies representing the 32 players projected to go in the first round by Scouts, Inc. - Forbes

Drew Rosenhaus begs the Bengals to Free Chad Johnson through a YouTube video. Is this smart to do right before you start talking to teams about your current draft eligible players? Is it ever a smart thing to do? I gotta hand it to Drew, though. He has quite a nice South Florida tan going on.

By the way, with the NBA Playoffs, NHL Playoffs, and NFL Draft all occurring at the same time, it’s easy to forget about other things in life, like your momma! If you still have not purchased a gift for Mothers’ Day, you better get on it. Here is a link to Amazon’s catalog of gifts.