DeSean Jackson is blaming former agent Drew Rosenhaus for his 2011 holdout with the Philadelphia Eagles, saying the agent lied about his close ties to the team’s management and then led him on an ill-advised contract negotiation tactic.
In a legal filing obtained by Yahoo Sports , Jackson claimed that Rosenhaus led him down a destructive path with the team. DeSean Jackson is also claiming that Rosenhaus violated NFLPA regulations by offering the player $143,088 to remain a client.
Jackson claimed that he hired Rosenhaus in part because the agent promised he could renegotiate the wide receiver’s contract “before or during the 2010 NFL season.” Rosenhaus could not deliver on the promise, then urged Jackson to hold out during training camp in the summer of 2011.
“In the end, the holdout served only to embarrass Jackson, undermine his credibility and diminish his negotiating leverage with Eagles’ management,” said Jackson’s attorney, William Quinn of global law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, in the filing.
DeSean Jackson then reportedly tried to leave Rosenhaus, but ended up staying when the agent paid him $143,088 to remain a client. The report noted that Rosenhaus gave Jackson $50,000 in cash at a gas station parking lot in a Louis Vuitton luggage bag. Rosenhaus also gave him a $90,000 check and a $200,000 interest-free loan.
“We went over the contract on the car [on the side of the road],” Rosenhaus said in an arbitration hearing in September of 2013. “I waited until I saw on my phone that it was after midnight. We proceeded to execute the contract. After executing the contract, I then gave DeSean the money that we agreed to give him. I gave it to him in the [Louis Vuitton] bag.”
Jackson is going to court to argue that he does not have to re-pay Rosenhaus given that the agent violated NFLPA regulations against agents paying off players. Arbitrator Roger Kaplan ruled that Jackson has to pay Rosenhaus over $500,000 in unpaid loans and agent fees.
DeSean Jackson has been plagued by controversy in recent months. He was cut by the Eagles this spring amid rumors that he has maintained gang affiliations , and later signed with the Washington Redskins.
Drew Rosenhaus did not respond publicly to the allegations from DeSean Jackson.
