NFL mega agent Drew Rosenhaus’ has negotiated more than $8 billion worth of contracts during his career. But no battle may have been as challenging as the one he participated in on Tuesday.
On a fishing trip with Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill, Rosenhaus decided to wrestle a shark in the water.
Rosenhaus posted the encounter on Twitter, captioning it: “Went fishing with @cheetah today and decided to get up close to this Dusky Shark.”
He swam toward the shark and grabbed its tail, as he yelled “take a picture” to the people still on board the boat. Someone asked Hill if he’d like to jump in, which he responded to with a “hell nah.” The shark was being pushed away from the boat, but eventually fought its way back to swimming and banging against it.
The wrestling could have turned disastrous had the shark been a healthy one, according to Dr. Chris Lowe, a Marine Biology Professor and director of the Shark Lab at California State University, Long Beach. A healthy shark may approach a boat, but it would have a more rapid and cleaner turn away.
“The fact that that shark just kind of slowly ambled towards the boat. Kind of banged into the boat, kind of rolled upside down,” Lowe said. “Those are the behaviors we see from a shark that’s either been caught and exhausted from the fight and then released, and they’re kind of groggy.”
If the shark was sick, it would have behaved in a similar way. Lowe made it clear that if that had been a healthy shark, Rosenhaus would have been bit.
“When you grab a shark by the tail that way, they can literally do a circle, come back around, and that’s how most fishermen are bit,” Lowe said.
Rosenhaus may have had experience dealing with sharks, prompting him to take advantage of a less healthy one in the moment, Lowe guessed. Lowe also added that people should never interact with a shark unless they know its condition and had been observing its behaviors.
However, the video of Rosenhaus and the shark is one Lowe emphasized he wouldn’t show because it’s a bad example of things you shouldn’t do if don’t have the expertise.
“We always say, it’s cool to see them, don’t chase them. Let them come to you if they’re interested,” Lowe said. “And certainly, don’t touch them.”
