Agent plays cards right for Peters
Tackle must prove deal good for Eagles
Agent Eugene Parker must be pretty good in poker because he played his cards just right in client Jason Peters' contract negotiations.
The Buffalo Bills showed their own poker face by refusing to yield to Parker's demands. But Parker was undaunted by the Bills' position. He even upped the ante to the point that the Bills decided to trade their star left tackle.
That's when the game really got interesting.
By dealing Peters to the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday, the Bills drew two draft picks, including a first-rounder, this year and another late-round selection in 2010.
But Peters was dealt a four-year contract extension worth $53 million in new money. Add in the two years remaining on the deal he had with the Bills and the total package is $60 million over six years.
So Parker's power play worked in the end.
Of course, any poker player knows that it takes more than skill to win the game. It doesn't hurt to have Lady Luck smiling on you, too.
Parker needed some because he had little leverage a year ago. Although Peters was coming off an All-Pro season, he still had three years left on a contract he signed in 2006, and the Bills insisted on holding him to it.
But Parker refused to throw in his cards. Peters held out from the start of the offseason conditioning program through the end of the preseason. He didn't report until a day before the regular-season opener and then only because the Bills agreed to discuss the possibility of a new contract.
Here's where Lady Luck came in. Parker took a chance that Peters would stay healthy, which he did until late in the season.
But Parker still needed an ace on the river card and he got it when Peters got invited to a second straight Pro Bowl.
Most fans contend the Pro Bowl is a popularity contest, but to agents it's a marvelous negotiating tool.
With two Pro Bowls and an All-Pro selection, Peters was entitled to a contract worth about $11.5 million-per-year, Parker believed, more than ever.
The Bills made what they felt was a generous offer, but they weren't going to give Peters the mega-deal he sought.
But Philadelphia was willing. Once negotiations commenced, Parker and the Eagles were able to accomplish in about eight hours what the Bills couldn't do in over a year … get Peters a new contract.
Parker didn't get the desired $11.5 million annual salary, but he was under the gun. The Eagles wanted a deal done right away to facilitate the trade, and that hurt his leverage. He couldn't hold out for more money.
But Parker can still go to Peters and say the yearly average of his extension is more than $13 million. That's a lot of poker chips. Peters also gets a chance to play for an Eagles team that is a perennial playoff contender.
Although the Bills sent away one of the best left tackles in the NFL, they gained some flexibility in this weekend's draft with the additional first- and fourth-round picks. The Eagles, meanwhile, get a dominant blocker and blind-side protector for quarterback Donovan McNabb.
But both teams are gambling that they made a good deal. The Bills better hope that whoever replaces Peters can get the job done. They also need to make the most of their nine draft choices by adding more impact players.
The Eagles will keep their fingers crossed that Peters is worth the commitment they made. It's one thing going against the likes of Joey Porter twice a year. Now Peters has to face ferocious pass rushers such as DeMarcus Ware of the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants trio of Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka.
Parker did his job getting Peters the money. Now Peters has to earn it.
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