Parker denies mentioning ‘$40 million’ to Sanders

Agent Eugene Parker has told Yahoo! Sports that he never conveyed to NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders that at least two teams were willing to pay San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree(notes) upwards of $40 million if the team had traded him. The implication by Sanders, made during a national broadcast, contributed to the 49ers filing tampering charges against the New York Jets last month.

“I told Deion that the 49ers had told me that two teams had called asking if Michael was available in trade and the 49ers told them ‘no,’ ” Parker said Friday and reiterated Sunday after Sanders was interviewed by NFL Network on the matter. “But I never said anything about what those teams would pay because I didn’t know. I never talked to any other teams. I think any logical person could assume that those teams, if they were willing to make a trade for Michael, would have been prepared to pay what they thought he’d want.

“Do you think those teams were just going to make a trade with the 49ers so they could just take the 49ers’ place and wait it out or were they going to pay the price? Logically, I think you have to believe those teams were willing to pay.”

Sanders addressed the issue during an NFL Network interview on Sunday and repeated a lot of the details given by Parker. However, Sanders didn’t back off his contention that Parker told him that Crabtree could earn a $40-million contract elsewhere if he sat out the entire 2009 season.

“Eugene Parker told me,” said Sanders, who was represented by Parking during his playing days. “That was my source. Eugene Parker told me that the San Francisco 49ers told him there were two teams that were going to trade for Crabtree but, guess what, we’re not going to trade him.”

During a Sept. 4 Network broadcast, Sanders strongly implied that two teams interested in trading for Crabtree had let the then-holdout’s agent know they were willing to pay upwards of $40 million over five years for a contract. The 49ers eventually signed Crabtree to a six-year, $32 million deal Wednesday morning after he skipped all of training camp and missed the first four games of the season. Crabtree did not play during the 49ers’ 45-10 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

Even though Crabtree has signed with the Niners, who drafted him with the 10th pick in April’s NFL draft, the tampering investigation continues. While the charges were filed three weeks ago, Sanders said the league has yet to talk to him about it. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league would not discuss the investigation.

Sanders’ position with the league came under scrutiny this week after Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant was declared ineligible after Bryant lied to NCAA investigators about having dinner at Sanders’ house in Texas.

Numerous agents and even NFL executives have speculated in the past week that Sanders’ relationship with Crabtree, Bryant and Parker is not accidental.

“That’s fine and I know where it’s coming from,” said Parker, who has a long history of representing top players, including Sanders, Hall of Fame defensive back Rod Woodson and Pro Bowl defensive lineman Richard Seymour(notes). “But I’m a little bothered by the inference of it. It’s that, ‘How can he get all those players? He’s not good enough to get those guys without help.’ That’s fine, I’m confident enough in what I’ve done over my career.”