Pats at impasse with rookie's agent

08:30 AM EDT on Friday, July 30, 2004

BY TOM E. CURRAN
Journal Sports Writer

Journal photo / Bob Thayer Patriots fullback Patrick Pass, left, and quarterback Tom Brady run through a drill during training camp practice session at Gillette Stadium yesterday.

FOXBORO -- Benjamin Watson missed the first day of training camp yesterday.

It appears he's just getting warmed up. The tight end from Georgia, taken with the 32nd pick in the first round, is at an impasse with the Patriots over his rookie contract. The team and Watson's agent, Tom Condon, are not negotiating and Condon -- one of the more powerful agents in the NFL -- appears bent on not bending to the Patriots demands for a team-friendly, long-term deal.

Watson, who's training in South Carolina, said wistfully last night, "It sure isn't college anymore."

Unfortunately for Watson, there are more factors at play here than just getting a tight end into his first training camp. Since 2001, the Patriots have been getting players and their agents to agree to contracts that favor the team. That's caused grumblings among some

agents, particularly the more high-profile ones like Condon, who works for powerful IMG.

The grumblings turned to outright disapproval this offseason when the Patriots first got linebacker Tedy Bruschi to agree to a modest new deal and then signed defensive lineman Vince Wilfork to a six-year contract.

Condon isn't about to let his client sign a six-year deal that will marry him to the Patriots until he's 30 years old because by then the length of contract and amount teams would be willing to give Watson will likely be less than it would be at, say, 28.

The Patriots are working off Wilfork's six-year, $9-million contract that included a $3 million signing bonus. There are escalators in the fifth and sixth years of the deal that could pump Wilfork's deal up to $18 million if he is involved in 55 percent of the Pats' defensive plays in those years.

The 32nd pick last year, Tyler Brayton of the Raiders, was given a six-year, $6.7-million deal that can be voided after five years.

A teammate who spoke to Watson confirmed that negotiations aren't going well. When asked if it would be a while before Watson is in camp, the player said, "It looks that way."

When Watson was reached, he was initially upbeat about negotiations, saying, "They're going good, we just haven't come to an agreement."

He downplayed the impasse saying, "I don't think it's that big a deal. It's not money, it's just a few things my agent is trying to clear up."

But later, he admitted, "It's very disappointing to miss the start of training camp. You work hard to be drafted, you're happy to be selected by the Patriots, but then certain things have to be done."

So how long can Watson hold out? Probably not as long as Condon.

"There is a point where I feel I'll need to play football," he admitted. "I don't have a date, but I feel there will be a time when I say, 'OK, no more negotiations.' But I trust Tom and the Patriots to get it done before it comes to that point."

For his part, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick didn't send a missile across the bow of Condon or Drew Rosenhaus, the agent who represents the other holdout rookies, Guss Scott and Cedric Cobbs.

Asked what impact their holdouts would have, Belichick said, "It depends. I don't think there's any set formula. Some guys it affects more than others. I don't think it helps anybody. But some guys come along quicker than others and we'll just have to see when they get here."