Maroney fires agent

[Undertaker #59*]

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2006/07/18/maroney_changes_course/

Maroney changes course
Patriots' rookie back in search of new agent
By Mike Reiss, Globe Staff | July 18, 2006

The process of signing rookie running back Laurence Maroney to a contract has taken an unexpected turn.

Maroney, the Patriots' first-round pick, has left the Lock, Metz & Malinovic Sports firm he originally hired to represent him, according to NFL Players Association records. As of late yesterday, Maroney had yet to file paperwork with the NFLPA that indicated who would be representing him.

There are two lines of thinking regarding Maroney's switch.

One is that the change could slow the pace of negotiations. The Patriots begin training camp July 28, but some rookies are reportedly scheduled to arrive at Gillette Stadium early next week. That leaves a small window for the Patriots and Maroney's new representatives to hammer out a deal.

On the flip side, since rookie deals are essentially slotted, several agents have said they can be finished quickly when both sides are committed.

When a player switches agents, there is a five-day waiting period before he is able to hire a new agent, per NFLPA rules. That waiting period has passed for Maroney, according to an NFLPA spokeswoman.

Maroney's switch doesn't appear to be based on dissatisfaction with contract talks, and is unrelated to tight end Benjamin Watson's contract impasse in 2004 when he switched agents to spark negotiations. At the time, the Patriots were holding firm on a six-year deal for Watson, a first-round pick, while Watson's agent was seeking a shorter pact.

Under rules of the NFL's new collective bargaining agreement, Maroney's contract can only be a maximum of five years.

The Patriots also are putting the finishing touches on a four-year deal for fourth-round pick Garrett Mills, which could be filed to the league as early as today.

 

[Mythjp]

http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/view.bg?articleid=148905

Contrary to report, Maroney sticking with agent, #0-3182
By Albert Breer/ MetroWest Daily News
Tuesday, July 18, 2006 - Updated: 07:45 PM EST

Prominent NFL agent Vance Malinovic is, indeed, still working on first-round pick Laurence Maroney’s contract with the Patriots.

And he says any report to the contrary is “erroneous.”

According to a published report in Tuesday’s editions of the Boston Globe, Maroney recently fired Malinovic and was already in the midst of the league’s mandated five-day waiting period for hiring new representation.

That, it appears, was simply a mix-up. Over the last week, Maroney had to refile some of his paperwork with the union, which may have given the appearance that Malinovic had been terminated.



A spokesman with the NFL Players Association said last night the circumstance was “not uncommon” and may have been a simple matter of one agent within the firm being dropped from or added to Maroney’s paperwork.

Malinovic told the Daily News yesterday that his firm is still representing Maroney, and characterized the negotiations between Maroney and the team as “ongoing.”

According to the Web site profootballtalk.com, the firm -- Lock, Metz and Malinovic Sports -- was dropped by 49ers tight end Vernon Davis, the sixth overall pick in April’s draft, earlier in the week.

Houston Texans defensive end Mario Williams, the first pick in the draft, remains the only first rounder under contract with some training camps opening as soon as this week. With a new CBA in place, the salary cap jumping by nearly $20 million and parameters of rookie deals being adjusted, there’s been some uncertainty in rookie dealings over the last few months.

Maroney cannot sign a deal for more than five years, which forces a departure from the Patriots’ previous desires to ink their first-round picks to six-year pacts. Last year’s No. 1 pick, guard Logan Mankins (32nd overall), signed a five-year deal, but was just the second of the six first rounders of Bill Belichick’s reign in New England to not agree to a six-year contract. Daniel Graham, eligible for unrestricted free agency at the end of the 2006 season, was the other.

The Patriots’ PR department, when reached last night, declined comment on the matter.

Another of the Patriots’ draftees, fourth-round tight end Garrett Mills, signed a four-year deal yesterday, the team announced.

Mills caught 201 passes for 2,389 yards and 23 touchdowns over a four-year college career at Tulsa, putting him second in NCAA Div. I history in both catches and yards for a tight end. At the team’s minicamps, Mills worked at tight end, H-back and fullback, providing the versatility that the Patriots typically crave.

Mills is the third of the team’s picks to sign, joining seventh-round safety/return specialist Willie Andrews (Baylor) and sixth-round guard Dan Stevenson (Notre Dame).

Financial terms were not disclosed.

 

[B A Rabbit]

So is any of this good news or bad? Any movement on the rookie signing front is good news I feel.