HALF EMPTY: AGENT IS USING BEARS TO DRIVE UP PRICE
Then there is the much shadier business angle that could be in play. Agents have one job: do anything and everything in their power (legally) to get the best possible deal for their client. It’s not unrealistic to think that Jeffery’s representative didn’t care for some of the numbers he was hearing when sending out feelers to other teams.
Appears Alshon Jeffery market thinner than Agent imagined and returning Chicago a viable option. Looking for $15M per yr & 35m+ guaranteed.
— Chad Forbes (@NFLDraftBites) March 4, 2017
At risk of ending up with an offer below their hopes, he decides to employ a creative tactic. How does one force other teams to increase their prices? By making them think that their target is beginning to lean towards returning to his current team. So he leaks some information to a respected insider (Rapoport) indicating that he’s met with the Bears. It went very well and a potential reunion is quite possible.
Now the more desperate teams are forced into a decision: call the bluff or up their offer. Odds are good that at least one of them will approach the number that Jeffery wants. It’s a somewhat dirty tactic from the Bears’ perspective. Yet it’s all part of what makes up the business of pro sports. As March 9th and the opening of free agency approaches, a clearer picture will begin forming as to which idea is more likely.
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