When will Michael Crabtree be signed? | Page 140

Originally posted by frenchmov:
Originally posted by MadDog49er:
Originally posted by oldninerdude:
Originally posted by MadDog49er:
Originally posted by 49oz2superbowl:
Originally posted by MadDog49er:
I thought I would post Satan's biography. Satan also goes by these various names: Beelzubub, the Devil, the Wicked One, Power of Darkness, Belial, Red Dragon, and Prince of this World>

Eugene Parker Bio:
Eugene E. Parker
Contract Advisor
Attorney Eugene Parker began his career in sports as an aspiring young athlete - much like those he represents today. Parker played basketball for Purdue University and went on to be drafted by the San Antonio Spurs. After a year of playing with Athletes in Action, Parker began law school at Valparaiso University, where he graduated with his J.D. in 1982. He began his ascent into the world of professional sports management when a local star, Roosevelt Barnes, Jr., asked for Parker’s advice on his Detroit Lions contract. From there, he has gone on to negotiate ground-breaking and record-setting NFL contracts and represent some of today’s top athletes, including Deion Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Hines Ward, and Larry Fitzgerald. Parker is known throughout the sports industry as both a tough negotiator and a man of integrity. Protecting his client’s best interests is always a number-one priority. Parker feels that there is more to being a good agent than negotiating a top-notch contract. Helping a client adjust to his new life as a professional athlete is also extremely important. He shows clients how they can use their athletic talents as a vehicle to gain an economic advantage in society.

Parker was once a nice guy, a Christian, who played with Athletes in Action, but suddenly and ruthless became greedy and evil. ARGH!! The evil just oozes out of him.

The True Face of Evil

I normally agree and support just about everything you say, but I really have to agree to disagree on this. We are in an economic recession, NFL jobs are being cut by over 25%, even pension plans are being revoked. Not to mention the industry already pays next to nothing to anyone that is not a GM or head coach.

This is all to accomodate for what? Outrageous salaries that Parker forces out of NFL teams. Yeah he represents a fine list of clientele, but every single one of them is overpaid (compared to comparable NFL athletes). Yes, he's doing his job. But, yes, he's also "Sleazy" for his tendency to hold out his players and leverage teams into paying athletes what they don't realistically deserve (forcing them to find other ways to save money, ie. layoff and/or cut the wages of the blue collar NFL workforce)... for a man that had alot of lucky breaks in his career, he sure doesn't help out the little man a lot.... (this is all coming from an Ivy League, Economics and Business double major, who graduated cum laude as a varsity football athlete, yet can't find even a $25,000 job with an NFL team in any capacity )

You make a nice moral argument, but at the end of the day, this is a business, from both labor and management.

He does play hardball with clubs, and that is how he gets top 5 WR money for players like Greg Jennings. The Devil is good at what he does.

Parker may very well be the greatest sports agent alive. Doesn't really matter, IMHO.

I have been negotiating "deals" for clients for over 20 years, both in criminal and in civil cases. I know some extremely talented, dedicated and hard working attorneys, and I've seen them in negotiations. Their negotiating skills are important, but most often, it boils down to leverage.

So where's Parker's leverage here? The possibility of Crabtree holding out for the year? That ultimately hurts his client as much, if not more, than it hurts the Niners. Is he going to pay Crabtree the money Crabs will miss out on if he sits out the year? Parker doesn't have THAT kind of clout, or money.

Its difficult for Parker to play "hardball" when he's only got that one pitch (and someone else already tossed it out there). Where's his leverage?

The longer Crabs holds out, the worse it gets, for him. Yes, the Niner's are missing their #1 draftpick, BUT Crabs is also missing--missing practice time, missing playing time, and ultimately missing money that he'll never get to make up.

BTW, I join in your objection to the less polite references aimed your way. No need for that sort of language, and I congratulate you for declining to respond in kind, even if I agree that your support for Parker seems somewhat overstated at times.

Hello, my friend.

I think both sides have leverage, in different ways. Crabtree will lose this year's salary if he doesn't sign, and risks dropping lower than 10th overall in next year's draft. He does have the potential to exceed the current offer if he re-enters and improves his draft status.

Meanwhile, the only potential gain for the Niners if he doesn't sign is having more cap space. If the Niners received compensation for Crabtree not signing, then they would hold all the cards. However, I'm not sure the savings in cap space, and holding firm in their contract offer, will be worth it.

Parker appears to be one of the sharper agents in dealing with controversial player contracts, and has a pretty strong history of pulling a rabbit out of a hat. He's gone through these prolonged contracts many times before, and I think he would have played this out in his mind before engaging in contract talks. I could be wrong, since I do not have access to his mind.

lol maddog you don't ACTUALLY believe that crabtree will improve his draft status for next year. he can't work out at the combine, he can't work out for other teams, he can't speak with other teams.

i know you want you want your super-agent to "pull a rabbit out of the hat", but to say the leverage is equal or anywhere near equal is ridiculous and you know that. crabtree is not going to be a top 10 pick in next years draft. i know that, you know that, crabtree knows that, the 49ers know that, and parker knows that.

While it is true that he cannot work out at the combine, and cannot conduct an individual workout with a team, to my knowledge, there are no restrictions in a public workout that anyone can attend. I'm sure Mike Leach and Texas Tech would offer their field, Graham Harrell can throw to him, he can run the forty and do all of the speed drills. There would be no restriction from scouts, coaches and GM's attending, outside of sitting down with him for an interview.

May I add that just because the league has a policy does not mean that it is enforced. According to league rules, teams cannot speak to free agents before midnight of the first day of free agency. And, somehow, some of these contracts are finalized and signed within 30 minutes of the open window. How? Secret negotiations take place between teams and agents. In addition, the league has a ban on contact during the OTA's, but nearly every team in the NFL has players beating on each other in contact drills.

While it is not likely Crabtree would make the top 10 draftees after sitting out a year, I would not bet against it. He seems to be a very driven person who would certainly be motivated to prove the skeptics wrong. A full year to train and prepare might bring his forty down to a much quicker number than expected.

It is a gamble, much in the way that the Niners would lose a first round pick with no compensation if Crabtree walked away. It is certainly not a one-sided loss.