Posted on Tue Mar 27, 2007 at 09:29:00 AM EST in NFL
More on: Lance Briggs, Drew Rosenhaus, agents, Bears, NFL (all tags)

Lance Briggs and Drew Rosenhaus have a new plan. Instead of sitting out the year as they originally threatened, they are going to exploit the collective bargaining rules and sit out only ten games. By showing up to work for the last six games of the season, Briggs gets credit for the whole year of service.

The Bears can tag him again next season but after two seasons of being tagged, rules say he has to get paid the average of the top 5 salaries in the league regardless of position if the Bears tag him for a third season. Considering the headache that he's causing them, the chances of that happening are worse than the Lions winning the Super Bowl.

Briggs seems to have the leverage here as he's willing to give up a chunk of change this year to minimize his injury risk so he can get the big bucks guaranteed next year. The Bears (and you better believe other owners are watching) have to tread carefully or the franchise tag becomes more of a joke than it already is. If they give into Briggs and Rosenhaus, they might be opening up a can of worms. However, if they let him sit out the ten games, they have a distraction for ten games and there is no indication that Briggs will be in game shape for their (expected) playoff run. This of course has the Redskins faithful abuzz with a possible trade for Briggs.

We don't have anything to say," team president Ted Phillips said Monday. We franchised him. He's going to make a lot of money. We think he's a good player, and we want him on our team. It's as simple as that from our standpoint.

They knew this was coming months ago. It's not a big surprise. ... It's part of the system. It's just a tool we have. Free agency is a tool the players have.

Yep, tools all around.

Links:
[Chicago Sun Times]: Briggs plans 10-game holdout to combat franchise ta

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Posted on Tue Mar 20, 2007 at 10:57:09 AM EST in College
More on: Greg Oden, Ohio State, college basketball, marketing, agents (all tags)

Mike Conley Sr. thinks that Greg Oden is going pro after this season. How else would you explain his decision to start a sports agency called Mac Management Group? Conley Sr. has known Oden since the sixth grade and coached him in summer basketball. In addition to Oden, Conley Sr. also coached Josh McRoberts of Duke and Buckeyes Mike Conley Jr. and Daequan Cook.

I'm not being presumptuous at all," Conley Sr. said. "Getting into this business is not just for those individuals. I'm competitive. I want to be the best at what I do, and that's not going to stop when I enter the sports management business. "Hopefully I can attract and share a vision with some of the athletes I know, but also with others and move their careers forward.

Translation: I've known Oden all his life. If I can get him to sign with me, then I have a golden goose.

Here's the best part:

I've negotiated a lot of different things. Almost everything in life is negotiated," Conley Sr. said. "You have to know what it is you're negotiating. You have to know when something's a good deal. Outside of being educated about the process, the same principles exist, and that's putting both parties in a win-win situation.

Hey listen, Mike, just because you negotiated down the price of your plasma TV at Best Buy doesn't mean you can go up against the sharks in the NBA front offices. LeBron James fired a real agent and hired three friends and they turned out to be bumbling idiots.

Run Greg Run.

Links:
[Indy Star]: Conley Sr. starting sports representation business

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