Agents could facilitate long-term deal
Updated: Feb. 27, 2005
By Michael Smith, ESPN.com
INDIANAPOLIS -- In what will perhaps be the first step toward finally reaching some form of resolution to what has been a contentious eight-year relationship with his team, St. Louis Rams left tackle
Orlando Pace has settled on Kennard McGuire and Fletcher Smith of Skokie, Ill.-based CSMG Sports as his agents, a source said.
Pace has been the subject of trade rumors, and a new deal would be his first long-term contract since the one he signed as a rookie.
Considered one of the game's premier performers at one of its marquee positions, Pace had been without outside representation since firing his original agents, Carl and Kevin Poston, in September. Pace then acted as his own agent in signing his one-year, $7.02-million franchise tender.
Two weeks ago, the Rams designated Pace as their franchise player for the third year in a row. Another one-year contract would pay him a guaranteed salary of $8.424 million, or 120 percent of last year's earnings.
The sides have until March 15 to reach agreement on a long-term deal. If not, the Rams cannot sign Pace until July without losing the use of the franchise tag for the length of the contract. The hiring of McGuire and Smith increases the likelihood of a settlement of some kind, not so much because of who they are as who they aren't.
The Rams have been at odds with Pace's representatives since St. Louis selected the 6-foot-7, 325-pound tackle first overall out of Ohio State in 1997. Pace missed all of his first training camp and three preseason games before coming to terms on a seven-year deal (it voided to six) and hasn't participated in the past two training camps because, technically, he was not under contract and, therefore, under no obligation to do so.
No matter, it seems. Pace, 29, has been selected to each of the past six Pro Bowls. He's started every game in six of his eight seasons, including each of the past two, and 115 of 119 games played. He's also started eight playoff games.
Last year, Pace rejected a seven-year, $42-million offer from the Rams that included a $13-million signing bonus. But Pace later told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that a signing bonus in the area of $15 million to $17 million would suffice; his agents, meanwhile, had at one point proposed $27 million in bonuses, which Rams president Jay Zygmunt famously termed a "ransom note." The Rams also spoke with the Browns about a possible trade last year.
The Rams reportedly have had discussions with the New York Giants regarding Pace. But a Rams-Giants deal seems unlikely considering New York does not have a first-round pick -- it belongs to San Diego as part of the draft-day trade that landed the Giants Eli Manning.
The contract to which Seattle recently signed Walter Jones should, in theory, help facilitate a long-term pact for Pace. The Seahawks gave Jones, a five-time Pro Bowl player, $52.5 million over seven years with a bonus in the neighborhood of $16 million. Pace and his agents likely will look to sign a comparable deal with the Rams or another team. Jones' new deal makes him the league's second-highest paid left tackle behind Jonathan Ogden of Baltimore. He had been Seattle's franchise player each of the previous three seasons.
Is Pace's annual game of tag nearing an end? McGuire and Smith have a track record of getting big deals done. In 2002 they negotiated a 12-year contract worth potentially a then-record $115 million for Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. The following year they helped make outside linebacker Rosevelt Colvin the richest free agent in Patriots history (six-year, $25-million deal). And last month, another client, Lions defensive tackle Shaun Rogers, received a landmark six-year, $46-million contract.
Neither Pace nor his new agents could be reached for comment.
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