More on Culpepper's retirement

Mark Craig points out that Culpepper's decision to be his own agent was probably the key reason for his inability to find the right team for a comeback:

Daunte Culpepper made a huge mistake Thursday morning when he sat down, typed out his 508-word retirement announcement and e-mailed it to numerous media outlets, including the Star Tribune. It was the latest and probably last mistake he'll make while acting as his own agent.

With a quality agent, the former Vikings quarterback would be in Green Bay backing up Aaron Rodgers. Or in Pittsburgh backing up Ben Roethlisberger. Or maybe even starting in a league that starts guys like J.T. O'Sullivan and Kyle Orton.

[. . .]

What has happened is a shame. Culpepper is only 31, which is still young for a quarterback. His knee is finally healthy again. His arm is still strong and accurate. And he has the experience of playing nine seasons for three teams (Vikings, Dolphins and Raiders), making it to three Pro Bowls and throwing for 22,422 yards and 142 touchdowns.

Culpepper the Player could have been one heck of a comeback story over the next few years. Unfortunately, Culpepper the Agent failed him with the Vikings in 2006, again this offseason and then for maybe the last time on Thursday.

I absolutely agree with this: Culpepper could have played several more years, certainly long enough to re-establish his reputation and be rewarded with a contract more to his financial taste. His negotiations on his own behalf were sometimes breathtakingly audacious, but rarely successful. There is a reason why most professional athletes use agents . . . and this is an illustration of what can happen when one choses not do do so. Specialists too often feel that their skills and abilities in their specialty also make them equally skilled in other, often unrelated areas (and the narrower the speciality, the more common this weakness appears to be). Culpepper was a top-notch NFL quarterback, but not a very good agent at all.