Jackson Cantwell told a story on his recruitment day about his father watching Drew Rosenhaus in action on an HBO “Hard Knocks” episode. The 5-star OT’s father saw the NFL superagent in action and knew that was who he wanted to represent his son.
Cantwell, the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit, chose Miami over Georgia and others this week.
What was that process like? In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s DawgNation, Rosenhaus said Cantwell was his first high school client, but now there are others.
“For me, the negotiation component is very different from the NFL,” Rosenhaus said. “It’s a unique negotiation process in college football right now. It was a great experience, though. Jackson and his parents are wonderful people.”
At first, Rosenhaus went too Rosenhaus. This is college football recruiting, not the NFL, but he had only one speed when it comes to his clients.
“He’s the guy going to the jugular of all those GMs,” Cantwell told DawgNation this month. “He’s doing that. He’s doing it.”
His firm, Rosenhaus Sports Representation, touts the following on its corporate website:
- Has negotiated more than $10 billion in contracts
- The only agent ever to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated
- Appeared in a national ESPN commercial
- Published autobiography with brother Jason titled, “A Shark Never Sleeps”
- Cameo appearance and consultant to “Jerry Maguire” and “Any Given Sunday” motion pictures
If Rosenhaus were anything else, it would be like asking a shark to chew 30 times between chomps.
A 2022 Forbes.com profile on Rosenhaus listed 97 clients totaling $1.2 billion in contracts. It also noted $33 million in commission and a roster that included NFL All-Pro receiver Tyreek Hill, among others.
It is widely speculated online that the cutthroat “Bob Sugar” character in “Jerry Maguire” is based on Rosenhaus. That guy. That’s the agent who represented the nation’s No. 1 overall high school football prospect for this cycle.
His approach allowed the 16-year-old Cantwell to get a good gauge of what he’d be making in college in advance of his decision. That was uncommon. In the past, a top-5 program like UGA has waited until the summer official visit to discuss with priority targets even a general idea of those figures.
“Basically, what I’ve figured out is that Drew Rosenhaus kinda takes souls, as far as like those things go,” Cantwell told DawgNation.
Rosenhaus was negotiating for Cantwell as if it were an NFL contract. When he got feedback from his client that the overall dollar value wasn’t the only thing he would base his decision on, DawgNation was told Rosenhaus made an adjustment.
There were headlines this week that might cause die-hard Georgia football fans to debate that. Published reports from On3.com stated Cantwell would make anywhere from $2 million to $2.5 million for his first season with Miami next fall, which caught a lot of attention.
The message boards on UGA sites have reflected those doubts this week.
Cantwell told DawgNation at his ceremony that it was “accurate” that UGA finished second in his process. DawgNation has learned the best offer from the Bulldogs did not come anywhere close to those reported totals with Cantwell and Miami.
“Every negotiation was unique,” Rosenhaus told DawgNation. “I was very impressed with the professionalism of all the colleges we dealt with. Jackson is incredibly mature for his age and handled the process with great class and poise.”
Rosenhaus said it was a “very difficult decision” in the end for Cantwell. He also added he “enjoyed dealing with the college negotiators” during the process.
He realized what the colleges would prefer in terms of these contracts wasn’t what was in the best interest of his client. Especially the way a lot of these deals are being structured, with escalating payouts over several years.
His agency wants to get his clients paid upfront first.
“The goal is to front-load every contract from a player’s standpoint, and obviously, the schools would prefer the opposite,” Rosenhaus said.
That’s been one method this spring and summer for both current and future college players. The specter of the upcoming House settlement looms with revenue sharing coming down this summer.
For those who follow pro sports closely, this would most closely resemble an uncapped year for the respective salary caps. Any monies paid out prior to the House settlement terms becoming active would not be on the books moving forward.
Rosenhaus is taking a wait-and-see approach to what will happen beyond that.
“Regarding the House settlement, (we) need to see if it will withstand the forthcoming legal challenges that are anticipated,” Rosenhaus told DawgNation.
When his commitment was made, Cantwell seemed pleased with the work Rosenhaus did for him during the recruitment and negotiation process.
“My thinking was, if I was going to be represented, and I wanted to make sure it was ironclad, and I wanted to make sure I would get everything I was offered,” Cantwell said. “I think that was why I went with the Rosenhaus agency.”
He had some advice for the next 5-star that hires an agent.
“Don’t get scammed,” he said. “Don’t do handshake agreements. I would get everything in writing. There are a lot of stories where it has been on the players and on the schools, and you want to make sure everything goes smoothly with that. You want to make sure you are properly represented, because you don’t want to be taken advantage of.”
His response to those online reports was that it was a “false narrative” that money ruled the day in his recruitment. He also said that the matters of his contract were “confidential.”
Cantwell’s decision appears to be very much final. He doesn’t intend to shop around to other schools; he made that clear on his decision day.
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