NFL Agent Explains Why Roquan Smith Fumbled Contract Talks

Roquan Smith has to feel frustrated. Other top players around the league continue to ink massive extensions. Most recently, it was safety Derwin James getting his bag from the Los Angeles Chargers. All the while, the linebacker remains sidelined at practice, unable to do anything but watch. He tried spurring the Chicago Bears into action with his public request for a trade. That hasn't gone as planned. There are no indications GM Ryan Poles will grant that request, stating multiple times his goal remains to get a deal done. Yet the Bears also aren't caving to Smith's demands. It isn't clear how much he wants, but the general rumor is he's seeking $100 million. He wants to be the highest-paid linebacker in football. The team doesn't seem willing to go that high, believing he should get something along the same lines as Shaquille Leonard. Complicating matters even further is how Smith is representing himself in these talks. One NFL agent told ESPN that has put way too much on his plate.

“I don't think he thought this through,” the agent continued. “If the Bears said, ‘Yes, OK, we give you permission to seek a trade,’ then what? What would typically happen is that an agent would call around, see if there's one party, and then if they find one, say ‘OK, if I can get a trade.’ Then the [new] team is going to want a long-term deal, as does the player. So then you’ve got to go into all these negotiations, and you might be negotiating with three teams, five teams. “That’s a lot of work. He’s in camp right now. Is he going to do that between meetings?”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfwuihl6uz0&ab_channel=NBCSportsChicago

Roquan Smith tried to get around this problem.

That became obvious when somebody named Saint Omni called around to teams asking about trade possibilities. He claimed to represent Smith. Omni has ties to other players in the league. However, he is not an NFLPA-certified agent. So he doesn't have the authority to field such calls, especially when he doesn't have written permission from the Bears. That constitutes tampering, which can lead to severe punishment from the NFL. As a result, other teams are likely even warier of Roquan Smith than they already were. Everything traces back to his decision to approach this process without an agent. There is a strong likelihood that things would've gone much smoother instead of spiraling out of control. Now the 25-year-old has three weeks before the regular season begins. He'll start missing actual games if he doesn't adjust his stance soon. That will take even more money out of his pocket.