With the trade deadline finally completed on Tuesday, NFL agents have been busy behind the scenes working with league front offices to decide on what destinations are the proper fit for their clients. In the coming weeks, they'll be busy working to secure long-term contracts for the players who were traded to new teams. Agents negotiate new contracts for their clients, but their work extends beyond the number you see when a new deal gets announced in free agency.
They guide prospects through the pre-draft process to help players achieve a higher draft position and team fit. Once a player is with a team, the agent works as a liaison, giving an NFL front office an opportunity to speak candidly about a player without causing issues that could affect dynamics on the field. The best agents know when to make a deal or when to take things into free agency.
Agents have to know when they have leverage, and how best to use it. The worst thing an agent can do is ask a team with a client currently under contract for an inflated deal. Relationships can sour between the front office, player and agent, which could cause friction if the player walks into free agency and doesn't find a deal near the inflated price.
More news: Exclusive: Breakout NFL Executives Who Could Become Future General Managers More news: Sigler’s Mount Rushmore of NFL GMs With that in mind, after talking to several general managers, executives and agents in and around the league, here are the top four NFL agents of all time in the modern era (1994 and beyond) and four agents who could eventually get on that list. One thing worth mentioning in this timeline is that from 1994 to 2010, there was no rookie wage scale. Agents could ask for anything within the rookie allocation pool.
To put it mildly, the business changed dramatically when the rookie wage scale was adopted in 2011. Rookie contracts dropped nearly 50% in 2011. From that point on, there has been a designated defined value amount for each draft pick, taking away the negotiation ability from the agents and putting it squarely in the hands of the teams. (Note: The names are in alphabetical order by first name.) Ben Dogra was a force from 2001 to 2014, when he represented 54 first-round picks, the most of any agent during that time period.
He negotiated approximately $1 billion+ in deals. He co headed CAA with Tom Condon and was the co-CEO at Relativity Sports. He was named the 6th most powerful sports agent by Sports Business Journal in 2008.
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