On the same day the Texans sent receiver Brandin Cooks to Dallas, the Texans sent tackle Laremy Tunsil to the top of the tackle market.
Saint Omni — a non-certified agent who made headlines last year for trying to negotiate with teams on behalf of linebacker Roquan Smith — told Ian Rapoport of NFL Media that the Texans have signed Tunsil to a three-year, $75 million deal, with $50 million fully-guaranteed at signing.
Like all initial reports of deals, which are blindly passed along without scrutiny of the actual, true details, we’ll wait for the real numbers before believing it’s as good as advertised.
“Mr. Omni is prohibited from negotiating Player Contracts or discussing potential trades on behalf of any NFL player or prospective player or assisting in or advising with respect to such negotiations,” the NFL said in a memo to all teams in August 2022, after it became clear that Omni was contacting teams in an effort to cajole them into trying to trade for Smith.
Although Tunsil technically represented himself, non-agents have in the past assisted self-represented players through phony email accounts. The agent pretends to be the player, in the digital negotiations with the team.
It will be interesting to know — if we ever find out — whether Tunsil negotiated the deal in face-to-face meetings with G.M. Nick Caserio, or whether Tunsil sent and received proposals via email.