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MIAMI BEACH, Fla.-The cultural gulf from Drew Rosenhaus' world to Lambeau Field couldn't be much wider.
Think white sand beaches then frozen tundra; art deco then Cheesehead; and Versace clothing then blaze orange.
Rosenhaus' command post as he negotiates contracts for the most illustrious list of clients in pro football is his Spanish-style, waterfront home, located in one of Miami's most prestigious neighborhoods.
Rosenhaus lives on Allison Island on Miami's intracoastal waterway. There's one street on the island, a palm-tree-lined boulevard, and 24-hour guard service to keep the public out. Rosenhaus, along with his younger brother and partner, Jason, purchased the house a little more than a year ago from Warren Sapp, one of his clients. The purchase price, according to Miami-Dade County property records, was $2,159,000.
The house includes five bedrooms, five baths and one of the most elaborate communication systems this side of NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
Rosenhaus says he owns two Treo 650s, a high-tech phone system that includes a Palm Pilot, a calendar, Internet and e-mail access, and also a message center that automatically forwards his calls to his cell phone. In all, Rosenhaus said there were four phone lines installed in his home office, which also happens to be his only office.
It's from here that Rosenhaus remains in almost constant contact with his more than 80 clients, the National Football League clubs that are on his negotiating list and the reporters he uses to enhance his profile.
''You call his number and I've never gotten a secretary,'' said Ernie Accorsi, general manager of the New York Giants. ''I can't tell you more than once or twice when he was traveling that it kicked into voice mail. I don't care what time of night or day, you call him and he answers the phone.''
Rosenhaus says his whole life revolves around his work, but that might be somewhat misleading.
His home includes a pool and a gym. He says he has a new 21-year old girlfriend. And he owns more than his share of toys, including a black Hummer H2, a red convertible Ferrari 360 Spider, a boat and three jet skis.
Rosenhaus' clients are all on his guest list. And when he's not representing them, he's often hanging out with them. Nearly 60 percent of Rosenhaus' clients either played at the University of Miami or with the Miami Dolphins, or grew up in the Miami area.
''I spend a lot of time with my clients in the gym,'' said Rosenhaus, who declined to meet for an interview for this story but granted two over the phone. ''I run with them. I lift with them. I pretty much do anything you can think of with them: basketball, tennis. We get after it.''
Rosenhaus also happens to live within five miles of South Beach, a favorite playground of the young, the rich and the famous. It's where Shaq and J-Lo, to drop two names, hang out.
It's where the chic stroll Ocean Drive in the hottest fashions; sunbathe topless and in thongs along the Atlantic Ocean; and dance all night to salsa, reggae, hip-hop or whatever other music is reverberating from the area's clubs, sidewalk cafes and bars.
Rosenhaus says he doesn't drink, smoke or use drugs, but he has acknowledged in the past that not all his clients abstain, at least from alcohol.
''He has the lifestyle that appeals to them,'' said Gene Burrough, another agent who calls himself one of Rosenhaus' enemies. ''He has the money to arrange for them to keep them happy.''
Rosenhaus, 38, cuts the highest profile of any agent, certainly in pro football and probably all professional sports.
With an ever-swelling list of big-name clients, he probably grabbed more headlines this offseason than anyone associated with the game and became a pariah to fans in cities where his clients have been threatening to hold out if their contracts aren't renegotiated.
Including the Packers' Javon Walker, close to 10 of his clients have boycotted offseason conditioning programs, skipped minicamps and/or threatened not to show for the start of training camp.
Based on two recent interviews; a 1997 biography, ''A Shark Never Sleeps: Wheeling and Dealing with the NFL's Most Ruthless Agent''; and other assorted stories and information found on the Internet, here is Rosenhaus' background:
He was born in South Orange, N.J., and moved to Miami Beach before he was of school age. He attended Jewish High School in North Miami and the University of Miami.
In 1990, Rosenhaus graduated from Duke Law, two years after he had already become a certified agent. Although he has a diploma from Duke, Rosenhaus is not a member of the Florida bar and, therefore, can't practice law within the state. He said he never took the exam because he was too busy representing players.
Rosenhaus' first client was Robert Massey, a cornerback drafted by New Orleans in the second round in 1989. At age 23, Rosenhaus invited ESPN to meet him in New Orleans and film his negotiations with the late Jim Finks, then the Saints' general manager.
Thanks, in part, to his publicity stunt, Rosenhaus' business took off from there. But it wasn't until more recently that his client list started reading like a ''Who's Who of the NFL.''
Seven years ago, at the start of the 1998 season, Rosenhaus and his brother represented 36 NFL players, most of them fringe and one-third of them Miami Dolphins.
As of two weeks ago, according to a list compiled by the NFL Players Association, the Rosenhauses represented 79 veteran players who were under contract with NFL teams and also four players taken in the draft last spring.
It should be noted that Rosenhaus Sports Representation is strictly a three-man operation. The only other people involved in the business, Rosenhaus said, are his brother, a registered lawyer and a certified public accountant; and former NFL cornerback Robert Bailey, who handles marketing and endorsements.
Their list of clients includes wide receiver Terrell Owens; tight end Jeremy Shockey; running backs Edgerrin James and Clinton Portis; defensive linemen Warren Sapp, Jevon Kearse and Marcus Stroud; and linebackers Zach Thomas and Dan Morgan.
Over the past two years, some of those clients and others, said Rosenhaus, have signed contracts worth more than $500 million, including more than $100 million in signing bonuses.
Based on the 3 percent maximum and standard fee that agents can charge for doing a contract, Rosenhaus might have pocketed no less than $3 million on the signing bonuses alone and could make more $15 million if just those contracts are fully honored.
Although other agents claim and players union data show that Rosenhaus doesn't always charge the full 3 percent, he insisted that was his common rate.
Clearly, all of Rosenhaus' clients are doing well by him. Or are they?
Burrough has been involved in the agent business since the 1970s. And he said there was a dark side to it that few people outside the game know about.
He said a large percentage of players, despite their six- and seven-figure salaries, not to mention large bonuses, find themselves without money in the offseason.
''They're not doing well, my man,'' Burrough said.
Too many of them were living beyond their means, particularly black players, he added. He also said he would have written a book on the subject except that, as an African-American, ''it would end up appearing that I'm being too negative on my people.''
He said it applied to all players, not just Rosenhaus' clients. But Burrough noted that many of the players represented by Rosenhaus fit the profile.
Of Rosenhaus' 79 veteran clients listed on the union site, 65 are black. That figures out to 82.3 percent, whereas 69 percent of the players in the league last year were black.
''These stories on ESPN, Drew comes across as a great guy,'' Burrough said. ''But that's the story that needs to be told. You just said [80 percent] of his clients are black. What is he doing for those guys other than making sure they spend every dime they're making?''
Rosenhaus said his firm did not offer investment or tax planning. But he's typical of many agents today. They negotiate the contracts and let the players or other advisers handle the money.
So where are the players who are struggling spending their money?
''Watch BET [Black Entertainment Television]. Watch 'Cribs' [on MTV],'' Burrough said. ''Look at the cars in the videos. It's about the houses these guys live in. They take you inside [to see] the pools and the garages.''
Burrough said he knew of players who owned four, five expensive cars, maybe $200,000 worth of jewelry and more.
As a result, Burrough said, many players hit their agents for loans. And when the agents don't come through, he added, they get dumped.
Burrough noted that Rosenhaus wasn't guilty of anything other than ''making a living the American way.'' After all, according to several agents, it's a common practice for people in their business to lend money to players and to open lines of credit for them.
A spokesman for the players union said his organization had never done a study on the financial well-being of its players. But Black Enterprise, a magazine that focuses on African-American business, cited a poll in 2003 in which 25.8 percent of players who left the game in the 1990s said they encountered financial problems.
Rosenhaus said he had lent players money in the past, but that he didn't make a common practice of it. And he disputed that his lifestyle and riches were what lured players to him.
Show Them the Money
Drew Rosenhaus' most successful clients also have garnered some huge contracts:
The Other Super-Agents
Drew Rosenhaus represents 90 pro football players, by far the most among NFL agents. A look at the other top agents:
SPORTSTARS (79): Alan Hermann and Brian Mackler lead six-agent conglomerate.
IMG (66): Tom Condon is preeminent agent, most notably representing Peyton and Eli Manning.
DAVID DUNN (65): Former Leigh Steinberg associate represents QBs Carson Palmer and Drew Bledsoe.
RALPH CINDRICH (49): Only one-man unit in top five specializes in offensive linemen.
SOURCE: NFL Players Association
Drew's Crew
Some of Drew Rosenhaus's high-profile clients include:
Edgerrin James RB Colts
Jevon Kearse DE Eagles
Willis McGahee RB Bills
Dan Morgan LB Panthers
Terrell Owens WR Eagles
Clinton Portis RB Redskins
Warren Sapp DT Raiders
Jeremy Shockey TE Giants
Marcus Stroud DT Jaguars
Zach Thomas LB Dolphins
Javon Walker WR Packers