Agents Advise NFL Players Not To Work Out

Several prominent agents have told their players not to do a stitch of working out as the NFL lockout continues, CNBC has learned.

No lifting weights. No pickup basketball games.

That's a quick turnaround from when the lockout was briefly lifted and many agents told their players, who had big workout bonuses, to immediately show up to team facilities.

It's smart advice if the players want to make sure they're guaranteed their money for next season, if that season ever comes. When players get hurt during team-sanctioned mini-camps, they are covered. Any injury that they suffer still guarantees them the money that they are owed for that season.

But if a player gets hurt working out by himself or even in the player organized joint workouts, those injuries are termed "non-football injuries" since the workouts aren't sanctioned by the team. The lockout, in fact, means that players aren't even allowed to enter team facilities.

What is going to be interesting is if negotiations go to the very end or even into the season, how much do both sides want to make sure that the players — especially the ones who didn't work out — get into football shape? What happens if they don't have a month to spare? If that's the case, we'll likely see more injuries than we've ever seen in the first couple weeks. And if some agents have it their way, at least it will be on the owner's dime.

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