My former client Ricky Williams, now a team leader

My old friend Ricky Williams appeared in the news today --http://www.miamiherald.com/616/story/535271.html -- speaking about topics ranging from his fortuitous decision to not join Cedric Benson on his day of boating and brush with law enforcement last week and his burgeoning relationship with the Dolphins' new boss Bill Parcells.

I spent two years with Ricky, representing him in 1997-1998 as a professional baseball player in the minor leagues and eventually, as a player about to be a top 5 pick in the NFL Draft. He is one of the more interesting people in sports I have encountered. He has a childlike sweetness about him that endears him to people, with an ability to draw people to him even after pushing them away. He was always a bit different than other players and never chose to hang around the football crowd. I never saw the drug use that he has spoken so openly of, but I did see a wanderlust that made his decision to venture to India, Asia and other uncharted terrain not at all surprising.

I remember that after a year of working with Ricky and his family he decided that he would enter to the NFL after his junior year. In December 1997 we filled out the proper paperwork and had it notarized at a hotel in Orlando while there for the ESPN College Football Awards. Had I sent that paperwork in right away, a part of the NFL landscape would have played out differently, with Ricky probably drafted in 1998 by the Chicago Bears instead of Curtis Enis and, of course, the Saints never having to mortgage their 1999 draft and their future for Ricky.

I knew Ricky needed more time with his decision, and when he went home to San Diego for the holidays, he hung out with some young NFL players -- Bryant Westbrook, Darrell Russell, etc.-- who advised him that professional football was not as fun as college. I remember him saying "I know in two year I'll have to go where I have to go, but why should I go to Chicago or St. Louis when I can stay another year in Austin?" Of course, there were a lot of professional and injury-related reasons to do so, but it was refreshing to see the logic in staying in a place he liked to live.

After signing him following the Cotton Bowl game and following him to banquets, all-star games and the like, I noticed a different group of guys hanging around him. Eventually, Ricky informed me that he wanted me to work with a music producer, performer and impresario named Master P. Ricky, as most now know, does not like to fall in line with the mainstream, and wanted more than a traditional football agent.

I did not think I fit the Master P demographic. Although it was a consideration as Ricky was to be the watershed client of my career, I chose the Green Bay Packers over Master P at that time. Master P hired another negotiator to work on Ricky's contract with the Saints -- who asked me many questions about Ricky prior to their monumental trade -- and, the rest, as they say, is history.

Ricky has remained an inquisitive type that always looks for more in life. His sudden departure from the Dolphins to travel the world was certainly not the best-timed move but it showed the impulsive and constantly-curious side to a person that always wanted to experience more. The day he left the Dolphins and the country in 2004 was the day my colleague at the Packers in the next office, our Player Personnel Director Mark Hatley, died of a sudden heart attack. That time represented a jumble of emotions for me but part of me thought maybe everyone else had it wrong in criticizing Ricky for his "life is short" attitude.

Now experiencing what appears to be a warmer side to Bill Parcells, it is interesting that -- whether compared to Cedric Benson or to the young roster on the Dolphins -- he is becoming somewhat of a respected elder, exercising the reasonable judgement that many have accused him of ignoring in the past. Interesting that my old friend who left me for Master P is now a respected veteran.