The crown jewel of the draft class of 2012 could be headed to the top quarterback agency in all of football. Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports writes that “word in the agent community” points to Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck signing with CAA.
Tom Condon and Ben Dogra of CAA already represent some of the top quarterbacks in the game, including Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. A decision by Luck, who undoubtedly will be advised on this aspect of his pro football career by his father, Oliver, to sign with Condon and Dogra would confirm the existence of a coordinated plan between Peyton and Andrew. Oliver Luck, who has a law degree, understands the concept of a conflict of interest, and he realizes that CAA would be unable to effectively service the interests of Peyton and Andrew, if those interests don’t fully align.
The Colts remain on track to “earn” the first pick in the draft, and Andrew Luck is expected to be the first player selected.
The plan between Peyton and Andrew, if there is one, remains unknown. Peyton could try to force his way out of Indianapolis, for example by refusing to delay the due date on the $28 million balloon payment from a contract negotiated in August. Or Luck could inform the Colts that he doesn’t want to tread on Peyton’s turf. Or perhaps they’re both fine with the concept of Andrew carrying a clipboard while Peyton finishes his career.
Whatever the plan, joint representation means that it will be more likely that the plan will come to fruition, because the guys at CAA will be implementing it.
All of this assumes that Luck chooses to hire CAA. In the end, the decision could hinge on whether or not he and Peyton truly are on the same page.
As previously mentioned, the only possible divergence would come from an effort to force a trade of the rights to Luck. Peyton would want the Colts to get the biggest possible package of picks and/or players, and Luck would want the cupboard to remain as stocked as possible to ensure that he’ll have teammates who can run the ball, catch the ball, block, and tackle.
UPDATE 9:23 p.m. ET: A source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that Andrew Luck has neither met with nor spoken to CAA.