Turns out the Mitch Trubisky agents in charge of his rookie contract have a history of hardball negotiating. Bruce and Ryan Tollner are part of a sports agency known as Rep 1 Sports. They have a prominent standing in the NFL these days. Nowhere more so than the quarterback position. Five-time Pro Bowler Ben Roethlisberger is their client, as is former #3 overall pick Blake Bortles of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The one that will interest Chicago Bears fans though is Marcus Mariota. He signed on with them back in 2015. Why is this relevant. Well according to Chris Boden of CSN Chicago, the brothers aren’t afraid to stand their ground on contract negotiations. Even if it might cause a media uproar. One that is threatening to if Trubisky can’t attend the start of training camp because he still hasn’t signed his rookie deal.
Turns out the same thing almost happened with Mariota two years ago.
Mitch Trubisky agents aren’t afraid to be patient
“Bruce and Ryan Tollner will not let their client take the field in Bourbonnais without a deal in place, even if they let it slide during organized team activities and minicamp last month. It’s great the kid says he’ll be there, deal or not, but they won’t let it happen without being signed, sealed and delivered.
It’s important to note that the Tollners have represented the last two No. 2 overall picks, who’ve also happened to be quarterbacks. Back in 2015, Marcus Mariota was their man and things got a little dicey before he eventually signed a four-year, $24 million contract that included nearly $16 million guaranteed. The Titans historically didn’t include offset language in their deals for first-rounders, but agreed to a partial offset in this case as the day of reckoning neared.”
For an idea, Mariota agreed to his deal on July 21st of 2015. Training camp started just 10 days later. For the Bears their first camp practice is set for July 26th. This means 19 days remain for the team to get things worked out with Trubisky and his representatives. The good news is that’s still plenty of time. GM Ryan Pace has his own history of methodical negotiating that can take longer than normal.
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One can say it’s unnecessary but given how well he’s managed the salary cap to this point, it’s hard to argue with his methods. He knows the simple stipulation. Get the deal done by July 25th. As long as he does that, however long it took before doesn’t matter. It certainly didn’t impact Mariota. He was terrific in 12 starts as a rookie with 2,818 yards, 19 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions.
