Michael Crabtree has something to hide. There's no other reason to explain his outlandish contract demands before he's ever played an NFL snap.

The 10th overall pick in April's draft, Crabtree, aided by agent Eugene Parker as well as other "advisors," won't agree to a deal appropriate for someone selected in his draft spot. Instead, he wants the 49ers to pay him like a top-five pick, since that's where many draft experts had projected him to be taken. According to reports, if he doesn't get his money, he's threatening to sit out the entire season and re-enter the draft in 2010. It's an odd strategy, to say the least.

Clearly, there's more to this situation than meets the eye. It's understandable that Parker would be looking for a slightly better deal than is traditional for the average No. 10 pick, since likely every team other than the Raiders — who drafted WR Darrius Heyward-Bey at No. 7 — would've made Crabtree the first receiver off the board. But that alone doesn't make the Texas Tech product worthy of top-five money. Sure, getting Crabtree a larger-than-expected contract would help Parker in recruiting future clients, but that rings true for all agents, and you don't see most of them making head-scratching declarations like those coming from Crabtree's camp. So what gives?

For a player as skilled as Crabtree, who put up mind-boggling stats with the Red Raiders and is the only two-time Biletnikoff Award winner, to want so much guaranteed money up front leads me to believe that both player and agent aren't very confident in the wideout's long-term NFL prospects. We've seen a slew of players emerge as superstars in college, only to flame out upon entering the pros. It's very possible that at some point between the time he signed Crabtree and now, Parker observed something that has him thinking the rookie will be a bust. In that case, he'd, of course, be eager to get as many guaranteed dollars as possible right away.

It could be myriad things that have raised doubts about Crabtree's long-term outlook. Maybe the fractured foot that he had operated on this offseason is a more serious issue than he has let on. After all, it certainly has kept him sidelined for much longer than originally anticipated. Maybe it's his attitude, as he's been described as "immature, entitled and a prima donna." That type of behavior definitely won't fly with Niners head coach Mike Singletary and could give Crabtree a bad reputation around the league. Maybe there are fears that, coming from a wide-open, spread offense in college, Crabtree's talents won't translate to the pros, leading to a short, unproductive career. Or maybe it's something else entirely. Who knows? Whatever it may be, something about these negotiations just isn't right.

All of this bewilderment and speculation can go away instantly, however, if Parker would simply get his player signed and onto the practice field. San Francisco has supposedly made a very fair offer, so the ball is in Parker's court to end the constant scrutiny on his client and get him under contract. There is virtually no chance that Crabtree will skip the '09 season and try the draft again next year — the negatives well outweigh the positives, if there are any — so all this posturing is doing is putting him behind the eight ball as he makes the giant leap from college to the NFL. Judging by the comments of some of his 49ers teammates, Crabtree already will have plenty to do just to get into the good graces of his co-workers upon arriving.

If nothing is actually wrong with the wide receiver and this whole thing really is about Crabtree wanting to get more money than Heyward-Bey, then the blame here deserves to fall on Parker's shoulders more than his client's. It's unlikely that Crabtree, an inexperienced 21-year-old kid, is sitting there and demanding an exorbitant amount of money. If anything, he's probably eager to get to training camp and catch up on the two weeks of practice time he has missed. But it appears he's being held back by an agent who's out to make his own rules when it comes to rookie contracts, in hopes of securing more draftees down the line.

What Parker needs to quickly comprehend is that agents can't negotiate deals based on mock drafts. If they did, the entire process would be even more chaotic than it already is, with numerous players clamoring for more money simply because Mel Kiper predicted they'd go higher in the draft. Cases like Crabtree's just further add to the argument for a rookie pay scale, which is a topic likely to be addressed in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement. But that's a different story for a different day.

For now, the focus is on Crabtree, whose best move at this point might be to rid himself of his entourage of "advisors" and hire a new agent. Unless Parker knows something the rest of us don't, he's being extremely shortsighted in his demands; if Crabtree truly is better than Heyward-Bey, he'll make more money in the long run regardless of whose rookie deal is better. Maybe a new agent would be more concerned about his client's well-being and less worried about putting himself up on a pedestal.

Kickoff is coming! Be sure to buy copies of the Pro Football Weekly/Yahoo! Sports 2009 NFL preview magazine, as well as the Pro Football Weekly/Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football Guide 2009, both of which are now available at bookstores, newsstands and retail outlets where magazines are sold. Or order your copies online at PFWStore.com.