Desean Jackson Wins Case Against Former Agent Drew Rosenhaus

Desean Jackson’s long battle with his former agent is finally over. Allow me to give you a brief rundown of just how long this ordeal has been going on. Back in 2009, Jackson, who was still playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, hired Drew Rosenhaus to represent him. Rosenhaus also played a key role in the exit of Terrell Owens from the Eagles, red flag #1.

Rosenhaus worked for Jackson from November 2009 to March 2012. In June 2013, Rosenhaus revealed that Jackson owed him just over $500,000 in unpaid loans dating back to when they started working together. According to Rosenhaus, Jackson, who signed a five-year $48.5 million deal with the Eagles in 2012, had so many financial problems that he was using his credit card to get by. Sounds bad? It got worse.

In 2014 the court agreed that DeSean owed Drew Rosenhaus the money. When Jackson, now a Redskin, did not pay back the full amount in a timely manner, Rosenhaus took the baller BACK to court. The tables turned later that year, however. Desean Jackson brought up a lawsuit against Rosenhaus. According to Jackson, the money Rosenhaus loaned him was not in good faith, instead it was a bribe for Jackson to keep him on as an agent. This may hold some truth considering things didn’t go sour until Rosenhaus caught wind of rumors that Jackson was entertaining talks with Roc Nation. 

Here’s what DeSean says happened. Back in 2011 his agent, Rosenhaus, convinced him to hold out on contract talks for more money. Things didn’t go as planned and DeSean blamed Rosenhaus for this. He threatened to fire Rosenhaus and to stay in his good graces, Rosenhaus pulled an NFLPA no-no. According to Jackson Rosenhaus paid him $50,000 cash in a Louis Vuitton bag at a gas station, followed by a $90,000 check and a $200,000 interest-free loan. DeSean says that Rosenhaus’ lawsuit ignores the NFLPA union regulations, then claimed Rosenhaus and  NFLPA chief DeMaurice Smith were friends. Jackson asked for the initial ruling to be thrown out. 

DeSean’s suit caused the NFLPA to beef up the penalties when it comes to agents. It’s unclear exactly what happened in court but on Friday, DeSean Jackson took to Instagram to announce that a federal court judge has ruled in his favor. “Truly Blessed,” said the new father in the post. 

What does this mean? DeSean Jackson can now breathe easy and does not have to worry about paying back the $500k because it was technically given to him illegally. It pays to have a great lawyer.