Jon Beason doesn't want to be an agent after playing days

Jon Beason remembers getting a call from the Giants at 3:52 on Tuesday, just eight minutes before the start of free agency. He was one of their top priorities, but he was also their biggest obstacle to a new deal.

Beason was his own agent now, and any decisions would have to work through him.

"I think as athletes we get labeled that this is all we do," Beason said. "...But at the same time, if you take the time to learn something and put forth the effort, you can do it. I wasn't naive enough to just think I could do it on my own. I got help going through the process and getting ready for the process."

Beason wanted to act on his own in order to be directly involved in the process. He didn't want to pace and fret while his near future was being negotiated. He likened the old way to "a little kid game of telephone."

The Giants were not the only team calling, which helped Beason add some leverage during the process, but the linebacker needed a lot more ammunition in order to secure the three-year, $16.8 million deal with more than $6 million guaranteed.

"The slight from teams comes with the (offer)," Beason said. "Their number is this, and I'm like, I'm pretty sure the market is a little north of that. That's where it becomes, not an insult, but a business.

"If you're buying a car, there's a sticker price. The buyer wants to get a little under, the seller is trying to get a little over -- but I'm the car. It's funny, it's like playing poker. You don't want to say what your hand is."

Beason said that players fearful of representing themselves cannot be fearful of the honest truth. That being said, Beason thought his negotiation process was cordial, and didn't hear any slights on his play from a team trying to get him as cheap as possible.

"That's the misconception of it," Beason said. "If you're going to negotiate for yourself, obviously there's a certain level of professionalism. I don't think they are going to take the shots they would if they were talking to your agent. But if you feel like you're a really good player, what are they going to say bad about you? You're too slow? You can't do this?

"I was selling them my intangibles; being a leader, being consistent and wanting to win. It was a great process."

Despite his success, though, Beason doesn't see himself entering the business after he's done playing football.

"I don't want to chase young guys around telling them how great they are," he said.


(nj.com)