Drew Rosenhaus

Drew Rosenhaus is among the best known American football sports agents. He owns the Miami-based sports agency, Rosenhaus Sports, and is known for his aggressive representation of his NFL clients, often generating highly lucrative contracts for them, and recommending that they hold out from practicing or playing when his contractual terms are not met by NFL owners. He was the basis for the character "Bob Sugar" in the popular 1996 movie Jerry Maguire.{{ref|maguire}}

Biography

"The University of Miami mafia"

Drew Rosenhaus is a 1987 graduate of the University of Miami and holds a law degree from Duke Law School. Drawing heavily on his college connections, sixteen of Rosenhaus' 90 NFL clients are fellow University of Miami alumni. Rosenhaus is considered a member of the "Miami mafia," a small but very tight-knit group of prominent, influential University of Miami alumni involved in business, politics and sports. The group is known for their close and sometimes secretive professional and social collaborations that usually have included extensive reciprocal professional support for each other.

Related Topics:
1987 - University of Miami - Duke Law School

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Rosenhaus is famously known both for his aggressive and sometimes risky approaches to the representation of his NFL clients, and also for often generating unpredictably large contracts for them. He represents some of the best-known and most flamboyant personalities in professional football.

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Due to his aggressive dealings, some of Rosenhaus' competitors claim Rosenhaus sometimes violates NFL Player's Association (NFLPA) rules by illegally contacting clients signed with other agents. Rosenhaus and his clients deny this charge. His competitors also claim that Rosenhaus uses players to vigorously recruit other NFL players and prospects, which, if true, also would represent a violation of NFLPA policies. According to the NFLPA, however, there have been no formal findings of violations of their policies by Rosenhaus, though Rosenhaus' approaches to client representation are considered some of the most controversial in professional football.{{ref|bio}}

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Other aggressive dealings

One prominent example of Rosenhaus' success as an agent was his representation of former University of Miami star running back Willis McGahee, who, in January 2003, suffered a disastrous, potentially career-ending knee injury in his final college game (the Fiesta Bowl, which was the national championship game that year; Miami lost) and, one month after the injury, signed with Rosenhaus with the goal of obtaining an NFL contract.

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Running back - January - 2003 - Fiesta Bowl

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A seemingly arrogant prediction at the time, Rosenhaus predicted that, under his representation, McGahee would be a first-round NFL draft pick in the 2003 NFL draft. Rosenhaus also offered to waive his standard three-percent commission and work for free if McGahee failed to be drafted in the first round. Surpising to many, in April 2003, proving Rosenhaus' prediction accurate, the Buffalo Bills picked McGahee in the first round as the 23rd overall choice in the draft, despite the fact that McGahee, still suffering from a devastating knee injury, started his career with the Bills not only unable to play, but barely able to walk. After successful reconstructive surgery and intensive rehabilitation, McGahee signed a five-year contract with Bills worth about $16 million.{{ref|mcgahee}} McGahee is currently one of the NFL's most promising young running backs.

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April - 2003 - Buffalo Bills - Reconstructive surgery

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Rosenhaus' clients also are known for their contractual holdouts, presumably advocated by Rosenhaus, which usually prove irritating to NFL owners and sometimes to fellow players. Following Rosenhaus' advice, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens asked the Eagles to revise his current contract following the Eagles' Super Bowl XXXIX appearance, stating publicly that, if the Eagles refused, he wouldn't play for them.

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Holdouts - Philadelphia Eagles - Super Bowl XXXIX

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As of June 2005, there exists a rather extensive list of Rosenhaus' clients seeking to renegotiate their contracts, including the Eagles' Terrell Owens, the Redskins' Sean Taylor, the Panthers' Dan Morgan, and the Packers' Javon Walker.{{ref|holdouts}}

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June - 2005

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A Shark Never Sleeps

Rosenhaus is the subject of a 1998 biography, A Shark Never Sleeps: Wheeling and Dealing with the NFL's Most Ruthless Agent. In addition to his appearance in Jerry Maguire, Rosenhaus appeared in another movie about professional football, Any Given Sunday, released in 1999.

Related Topics:
1998 - Any Given Sunday - 1999

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2005: Saving a life in Orlando

While Rosenhaus is unpopular in some corners for his confrontational negotiation on behalf of his NFL clients, he received very positive national attention on July 19, 2005, when he saved the life of a four-year-old boy, Maurice Hill. Hill had no pulse and had essentially drowned in the pool at the Grand Floridian Hotel in Orlando. Rosenhaus dived into the pool, pulled Hill out of the pool and administered CPR until paramedics arrived and restored the youngster's breathing. Rosenhaus was credited with saving the young boy's life.

Related Topics:
July 19 - 2005 - Grand Floridian Hotel - Orlando - CPR

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