Cowboys, Bengals voted NFL's most 'unstable' franchises, according to agents; Panthers, Browns next

The Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys apparently aren't very popular in the NFL agent community. In a survey of agents, those two teams topped the list of the most "unstable" franchises in the NFL. 

The survey was conducted by NFL writer Ben Standig, who talked to 24 agents. Out of that group, the Bengals got 5.5 votes as the most unstable franchise in the league, while the Cowboys came in second with 3.5 votes. The Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers came close to the top of the list with three votes each, but it was the Bengals and Cowboys who drew the ire of the majority of agents. 

"There is always some kind of issue there and not much accountability," one agent wrote about the Bengals. "This offseason, the contract negotiation for Trey Hendrickson and the language in the contract of their first-round pick [Shemar Stewart] are great examples. Every agent knows what's coming."

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One agent also referred to the Bengals as a "Mom and pop ownership." The Bengals are owned by Mike Brown and he has several family members working in the team's front office. In Dallas, the Cowboys have a similar set up with Jerry Jones running the show as the owner, but he also has several family members in the front office. 

"An 82-year-old billionaire thinks he knows how to run a football team, and all the yes men around him nod along," One agent wrote of the Cowboys. 

It probably won't come as a huge surprise to anyone that both of these teams are mostly disliked by agents. The Bengals can be a tough team to negotiate with. Not only did they have a contract standoff with Stewart, their first-round pick, but they also struggled to get a deal done with Hendrickson, who sat out all of training camp before agreeing to a $14 million raise. On Stewart's end, he eventually signed his rookie deal after missing the first three practices of training camp. 

The good news for the Bengals is that they ended up getting both Stewart and Hendrickson under contract, which is something that can't be said for the Cowboys. Dallas had a high-profile contract dispute with Micah Parsons and that ended with Jones shipping him off to Green Bay in a deal that brought two first-round picks back to Dallas. 

Jones has been known to try to cut agents out of the negotiation process -- he prefers to deal with the player directly -- so it's no shock that a group of agents view the Cowboys as unstable.  

Not only did the agents vote on the most unstable franchises, but they were also asked to name the franchise that has its act together and the coaches that get the most out of their players. Standig's full survey is worth checking out and you can do that here.