By John Harris
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wildly successful agent Drew Rosenhaus has never experienced a player holdout he didn't enjoy.
But he has good news for Steelers fans who are concerned about his bad-guy reputation for holding teams hostage during contract negotiations.
Rosenhaus guaranteed that first-round draft pick Lawrence Timmons will be signed in time for the start of training camp in July at Saint Vincent College.
"We have all confidence that Lawrence will be signed before camp starts," Rosenhaus said.
Timmons, the Florida State linebacker who was the 15th overall player selected in this year's draft, will participate in his first official team function -- a mandatory minicamp Friday-Sunday at the Steelers' South Side facility.
"He's going to be at every minicamp, every workout -- everything," Rosenhaus said. "He'll operate as if he's under contract right now."
Rosenhaus said NFL teams traditionally don't begin serious contract talks with rookies until a couple of weeks before training camp.
With Timmons being drafted in the middle of the first round, both sides may decide to wait for players taken earlier in the draft to sign, so that their contracts can be slotted according to their position.
"About a week before training camp, there's a process in the negotiations where you'll see a flurry of signings, and a vast majority of players will report on time," Rosenhaus said. "That's just the way it goes."
Here's how negotiations typically go for the controversial Rosenhaus:
Sometimes, in order to speed up negotiations, he instructs his clients to boycott minicamp or training camp -- sometimes both.
A partial list of holdouts represented by Rosenhaus in recent years includes Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin, Carolina Panthers linebacker Dan Morgan, Denver Broncos wide receiver Javon Walker (who was a holdout with Green Bay), New Orleans Saints cornerback Mike McKenzie (then with Green Bay), New York Giants running back Reuben Droughns (then with Cleveland), Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens (then with Philadelphia) and Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs.
How do the Steelers know Rosenhaus won't utilize the same strategy with Timmons?
"That's such a misconception," said Rosenhaus, a workaholic who represents more than 90 clients. "Since March 2, we've negotiated over $300 million worth of NFL contracts. We know how to get guys signed.
"Occasionally, once in a blue moon, we'll have a proverbial guy that has a contract-related issue. But we haven't had a rookie hold out of training camp in years."
Chicago general manager Jerry Angelo blamed Rosenhaus for a botched trade that would have shipped Briggs, a Rosenhaus client who wants to renegotiate his contract, to the Washington Redskins prior to the draft.
Despite expressing his unhappiness with Rosenhaus, Angelo drafted tight end Greg Olsen, another Rosenhaus client, in the first round.
"If I were a fan and my team had a prominent player represented by me, I would breathe a sigh of relief because I know how to get guys signed," Rosenhaus said. "I think that whole, 'oh, no, it's Drew Rosenhaus' thing is a myth.
"The Bears know we're not going to have a tough time getting Greg's deal done."
Ditto for the Steelers, according to Rosenhaus, who also represents running back Najeh Davenport.
"The Steelers have a nice formula. They've got a good negotiator in Omar Khan, who, basically, his job is to get deals done," Rosenhaus said. "I'm very confident that Lawrence's contract won't be an issue. As long as the team is reasonable and the agent's reasonable, there's absolutely no excuse for not getting the deal done."
Sounds like Timmons reporting to training camp on time is already a done deal.
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