Tarell Brown hires Joel Segal as new agent; Will contract negotiations follow?

Five days after last week's contract craziness, Tarell Brown has himself a new agent. His publicist, Denise White, confirmed with Sports Business Journal's Liz Mullen that Brown has hired Joel Segal as his new agent. Segal also represents 49ers defensive lineman Glenn Dorsey and cornerback Chris Culliver. Brown was previously represented by Brian Overstreet.

Last week, Brown went through a bit of a nightmare scenario as he saw his 2013 base salary de-escalated by $2 million due to an oversight. His 2012 performed earned him a $2 million salary escalator for 2013, but it required his attendance at the team's offseason workout program. Last Friday, Brown told the media that he learned about the issue via Twitter that morning. He subsequently fired Overstreet. The NFLPA has a five-day waiting period for a player to change agents, and Brown now has his new agent.

There is some confusion about who knew what, with Coach Harbaugh indicating he was not aware and did not think anybody within the front office knew. Obviously it is debatable whether nobody knew about the workout clause, but at this point, that is turning into more of a footnote. Brown is reported to have met with the 49ers about the issue, but had no comment on any resolution.

This only serves to complicate the fact that he was already in his walk season without a new contract. Signing an agent now could help get the ball rolling on a potential contract extension. Although Brown wasn't flashy, he quietly put together a very solid season, and was the team's most consistent cornerback. It's hard to tell what his market will be like next spring, so it remains to be seen what kind of deal we would be talking about.

That being said, bringing in a new perspective in the form of Segal could help get things going. Or Brown walks in March and that's it. I don't really know. This could be as much about simply working out something just on the $2 million, it could be about getting an extension done, or it could just be to prepare for next offseason.

Whatever the case, Segal brings some serious agent stock. He is president of the football division of Lagardere Unlimited, overseeing a group that represents 63 NFL players. That doesn't make him better than an agent who represents two or three players, but it does mean he has resources behind him.

The $2 million question then is this: Will Tarell Brown be on the 49ers roster in 2014?