Deandre Hopkins is officially on the open market, becoming a free agent and able to sign with any team as of yesterday, May 30th. 

But just as that news was coming in, so came an even bigger piece of information. I'll explain why:

Former #AZCardinals star WR DeAndre Hopkins has hired agent Kelton Crenshaw of @KlutchSports to represent him in free agency, source says. Hopkins had previously represented himself before signing with Crenshaw, who also reps Chase Young, Kayvon Thibodeaux and DeVonta Smith.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 30, 2023

Now hiring an agent will certainly help any team that wishes to sign Hopkins, as we need look no further than the last year and a half of the saga that was the Lamar Jackson situation in Baltimore. 

And while credit is due to Jackson and his mother for representing themselves and generating the largest contract in the history of the sport, things certainly would have been a lot smoother and more timely, had he had the proper representation. 

But Hopkins didn't sign with just any agency, he signed with Klutch Sports and Kelton Crenshaw, someone the Giants front office has great contact with, considering that's the same representation that both of their top 10 picks in the 2022 NFL Draft use.

So while Kayvon Thibodeaux and Evan Neal may not have the pull to persuade the front office yet, there is common ground between the Giants brass and one of the top free agents in some time. 

As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reiterated on his latest appearance on the Rich Eisen show, Hopkins signing with an agency helps everyone involved:

"Klutch Sports just signed DeAndre Hopkins. What do you think that means? As Hopkins is no longer representing himself," Eisen asked Florio. 

"We've been hearing because Hopkins had been representing himself, what that means for a lot of the guys who represent themselves is they have somebody who isn't certified by the NFL Players Association who is actually doing the representing for them and the NFL has been sensitive to that in recent months," said Florio.  

"And the St. Omni name (an uncertified agent) has been percolating around with DeAndre Hopkins to the point where I was told the teams are very leery about dealing with him. And one of the things that happens when guys represent themselves, is that they set up dummy email accounts," noted Florio.

"They pretend to be themselves communicating with the team but it's actually this off-the-books agent who uses email campaigns," added Florio. "I know multiple teams would only talk directly to DeAndre Hopkins and not email him because of this practice of using the burner account. So he wisely hires an agent as that's out of these potential complications as he now embarks on what won't be an easy negotiation."

So the reasoning is now clear. While the middle-man has been added via an agent, this isn't the scenario where you look to cut one out, as it opens the lines of communication. 

Giants fans hope the talk will be flowing between Hopkins agency and New York, with the champagne to follow. 

Featured image via: © Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK