Rosenhaus is working on getting Frank Gore a contract extension that will get him paid on an equal level with the top running backs in the league, possibly the #1 contract.

49ers are expected to agree to any extension like this.

It is speculation as to what the 49ers will do here, but what should they do in a case like this? The power appears to be in the hands of the 49ers because even after 2008, Gore will still be a restricted free agent, giving the 49ers the ability to match any offers, or take compensation.

Should they wait it out with Gore and see what the market will bring after the 2008 season, or do they take a risk on a guy who has been great for them recently but has his share of big injuries in his past?

If I'm them, there is no way I pay him as the #1 back after 1 year. I know he was great last year, but RB's in the NFL are too fickle to jump on one hot year. I would try to work out a deal next year after you see him do it again. With him being a RFA, you tender him at the 2nd round rate and try to work a a big deal then. To do it now seems premature to me.

Now if they were willign to take a more reasonable deal now, absolutelty, try to work it out, but sounds like the snake it at work again making this a messy situation.

I agree with you, Miller. This looks to me like a case of an agent wanting to cash in quickly, feeling that his client's value is as high as it will ever get. San Francisco has no reason at all to even consider it this year.

Next year? maybe, if Gore is injury free and still a top running back in the league.

If they were the Casserly-led Texans, they would sign him to a three year extension, and then find out that his knee is bone on bone. [ahem Domanick Williams aka Davis)

Drew Rosenhaus is one of my least favorite people in the NFL.

He wouldn't be if you were a player making money under his guidance.

Think about how much you hate this guy every time a team cuts a player in the middle of his contract all in the name of saving money under the salary cap.

Like him or not, this is the best agent in the NFL, as far as I am concerned.

If contracts were binding from the side of the player and the team, I might think differently, but at the same time, we would probably see him doing his job differently.

He would never be my agent if I were a pro athlete. If I were a pro athlete I'd actually care to certain extent WHERE I played and how I'd be remembered. I wouldn't want to pull a Lance Briggs or a Terrell Owens.

For some players they just keep repeating "it's a business" and they know the name Rosenhaus so they gravitate toward the name. But in my opinion, he wouldn't be my style of agent and if I owned a team I'd try to avoid dealing with his clients (as a lot of them do).

One of the things that makes Drew so shrewd is exactly what you're seeing with Gore. His M.O. is to initially ask for something completely out of the realm of realism, knowing full well he probably won't get it. This way, when negotiations start, he creates the illusion that he's compromising when in actuality, he's simply getting fair market value plus a little extra.

He knows Gore isn't the #1 RB in football. He knows Gore probably isn't the #3 RB in football. He knows about Gore's medical history.

But he also knows that Frank Gore is a young, talented skill position building block on a proud franchise whose fan base and ownership are getting restless to win again.

I don't care much for his personality or some of his tactics, but he's extremely good at what he does, which is make sure his clients never leave money on the table.

And the days of the hometown discount are long gone. Why should the player lose money while showing loyalty to the team when the team wouldn't do the same?

So you would be happy with signing a mediocre contract to play "where you wanted", then as soon as you got comfortable, the GM decided to cut you in the middle of your contract because you are going to cost too much against the cap.

There is no loyalty on either side of the negotiations anymore. If you decide to be the good guy as a player, more than likely you will have it thrown back in your face and find yourself on the street looking for another team to sign with.

Players have to rely on these agents to get them everything they can early, because Owners will cut a player the first chance they have if they can bring someone in cheaper.

This is something that has always irritated me. It seems like most fans will quickly get mad at a player who is holding out for more money, or agents that are getting everything they can for their client. They see the player as "backstabbing" or "turning their back" on the team.
When the owner cuts a player though, that has done everything that was asked of them, that is generally O.K., because it is being done in the "best interest of the team". Often times, it is the player that avoided getting all they could on the free agent market so they could stay with a team, then two years later, they find themselves being referred to in the newspapers as a "cap casualty".

Until the system is fixed where contracts actually mean something, players are going to need agents like this to make sure they don't get railroaded their entire career.

I agree with most of what you said, boss. And I tend to side slightly more with the player than I do with the organization in most cases, but one thing that I cannot tolerate is holdouts. That is, guys wanting to rework an existing contract when it's no longer convenient for them. Honor the dang thing or don't sign it in the first place.

I also have a soft spot in my heart for the small handful of players who shun agents and represent themselves.