For plenty of NFL agents, conflicts of interest are a way of life. Whether it’s the same agent representing two players vying to be the first overall pick in the draft or the same agent representing two players on the same team competing for the same position or the same agent representing the head coach and a star player who might no longer be worth his eight-figure salary, there are plenty of situations in which an agent necessarily can’t do as good of a job as he could for one client, due to the possibility that he’ll undermine the interests of the other client.
But, to date, the NFL Players Association has allowed such conflicts of interest to exist, largely unfettered. And so it falls to the players to recognize the situation, and act accordingly.
To his credit, Jets quarterback Kellen Clemens realizes that his agent, Dave Dunn, has a potential conflict of interest as it relates to his representation of Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez.
“It was something that I even thought about prior to the draft, something my wife and my family considered, because Dave [Dunn] has a lot of quarterbacks,” Clemens said Thursday. “It’s not something that is concerning [to me] at this point. I feel very confident in him, and Mark does as well. They are going to handle their business between those two, and Dave and I will handle our business between he and I, and I am confident there won’t be any conflicts of interest.”
But, arguably, there already is a conflict of interest because every agent should want his client to be a starter — and should be doing everything he can to make the case for the player to start.
Clemens needs an agent who’ll be doing just that. And Sanchez needs an agent who’ll do the same, especially since his contract will have a big-money one-time bonus triggered by participating in 35 percent of the snaps this year, of which Dunn will get a fee.
Dunn, however, has no choice but to keep his head low and his mouth shut. So, neither guy will be getting the best possible representation.
It’s a conflict of interest. And one of the two players should hire a new agent.
Though, on the surface, Dunn and his colleagues at Athletes First might not appreciate our decision to raise this point, Dunn likely would be relieved if Clemens decided to hire another guy, so that Dunn could then begin doing everything he can to ensure that Sanchez will be the Week One starter.