From NFLPA Exam Prep to First NFL Draft: Rookie Agent Reactions from Team ITL

24 Friday Apr 2026

Posted by in Agent Exam, Agents, Getting started

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If you’re reading this, the NFL Draft is probably something you find exciting. Well, imagine your excitement if this was the first draft you were actually a part of.

That’s actually the case for dozens of our clients who started off with us last summer in preparation for the NFL agent exam. Given that they’ve gone from wondering what it would be like to represent NFL players to nearing making that a reality, we thought we’d reach out to some of them to get their feelings, in their own words.

Here’s what they told us.

“I think at this point it’s kind of hard to put into words because there is still a lot of uncertainty of what to expect and how the process actually will play out. Certainly a lot of emotions which probably won’t fully be realized until the weekend is over and hopefully all my players have at least (rookie mini-camp) invites. I am also trying to separate the draft which I have watched on television for years and the process I am participating in this weekend because of the likelihood that my players do not get drafted. I took a somewhat conservative approach this cycle as I am co-repping four players but only the lead agent on one. . . although there is a feeling of uncertainty, there is also a feeling of excitement and hope and I am optimistic that all four of my guys will at least get an opportunity.” — Lane Macaluso, Macaluso Law

“Definitely a surreal feeling going from watching the draft as a fan my whole life to now experiencing it as an agent – it’s a completely different perspective. With two prospects who are potential Day 3 picks or priority free agents, I’m locked in on every pick and tracking who the interested teams are taking. The last few months have been a whirlwind, but I feel great going into the weekend. I’ve learned a ton since getting licensed and (Inside the League) has been a huge help along the way.” — Will Scott, A&P Sports

“This being my first draft I have the feelings of nervous excitement and strong confidence… (Inside the League) has directly helped me forge powerful relationships and opportunities that have rapidly advanced my career… I will never forget this draft because I feel like I’m in it!” — James Tortorelli, Reliant Athletic Management

“First draft… excited, nervous, but feeling as prepared as I can be. Honestly, having (Inside the League) and the Stratic team in my corner has been a game-changer. Incredible group of people who have really helped show me the ropes.” — Blaise Rosati, NXT ERA

“Being at my first NFL Draft with a client is honestly surreal. I’ve watched the draft every year for as long as I can remember and used to make mock drafts just for fun, so to now be part of this process on the professional side is both nerve-wracking and incredibly exciting. I’m fortunate to represent a client who has late-round draft potential (Virginia Tech DT Kody Huisman), and the possibility of seeing him hear his name called is a feeling I never imagined I’d experience when I was just watching from home as a fan. What makes this experience so different is that I’m no longer focused only on my favorite team’s picks—I’m watching every selection and every team need to understand how each decision could impact my client’s opportunities. In many ways, it feels like I’m in my own war room, which makes the entire experience even more exciting. I’ve also never been more aware of my phone notifications in my life (haha).” — James Winn, First Winn Sports & Entertainment

“I’m excited every draft as a fan, but it feels particularly special being a part of this process as an agent. The anticipation of your favorite team’s draft selections is nothing compared to when it’s your client’s future on the line. If I hadn’t connected with (Inside the League) and (the ITL) community (the other agents, Stratic, etc.), I probably wouldn’t have a client this draft but, if I did, I know I wouldn’t feel nearly as prepared for the next steps. In short… I feel excited, hopeful, and as prepared as I could be without having been here before.” — Gabriel Opatken, 8180 Sports

“It feels great. I’ve been excited all week and waiting for this day like a kid waiting for the toy store to open. It’s just so rewarding to know that all the work I’ve put in since recruiting and through the pre-draft process culminates to this and having the chance to hear my client’s name called. Days 1 and 2 will still feel the same for me as a fan of the game. But I’m looking forward to Day 3 where that day will matter most for my clients, and I’ll be involved more as an agent and not a fan.” — Alex Nguyen, McRae Sports Group

“Of course, it feels good! Feeling all of the feelings – nerves, excitement, etc. I think with my guys being more on the radar (Friday) and Saturday, it will start to feel more real then. But all of the work it took to get to this point between graduate degree, test prep, passing the test, recruiting, pre-draft, etc., it feels like a dream come true and we’re only getting started.” — Evan Pobuta, Vienna Talent Group

If you’re taking the exam this summer, don’t risk not being able to have these same feelings this time next year. As the most established NFL agent prep program in the business, and the one with the most active NFL agents (by a long shot), we love helping people achieve their dreams. It’s not too late to get going. Start here.

For more thoughts from first-year agents experiencing their first draft, make sure to check out today’s Friday Wrap. Register here.

Why Do NFL Agents Fail? Here Are My Thoughts

16 Thursday Apr 2026

Posted by in Agent Exam, Agents, Getting started

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Tonight, we’ll have our third Zoom session for aspiring NFL agents, covering several key concepts that could be part of July’s exam. With less than 100 days until the test, things are ramping up.

Simultaneously, we’re hearing from agents who are facing their third draft class and, without having signed anyone who made it to an NFL roster so far, they’re facing professional mortality. Basically, they have five months to get someone on a roster, and if next weekend goes poorly for them, they’re in a real bind.

So how does this happen? How do so many talented people — many of them accomplished attorneys, all of them having achieved a postgraduate degree — come into the business every year but find themselves ousted from the business three years later? More generally, why do people hoping to represent NFL players fail? Here are the top reasons.

They can’t pass the exam. In our decade-plus working with aspiring agents, we’ve seen our share of people who failed the test twice. It sounds ridiculous, but it’s not at all uncommon. It’s a very complicated exam, and if you don’t use prep services like ours, that’s doubly true. You’re talking about a 700-page CBA with lots of complicated topics, and the NFLPA does you few favors. It’s open-book, yes, but that doesn’t mean it’s a walk in the park. And given the responsibilities an agent has, the test should be challenging.

They don’t make the right relationships. Every year, there are dozens of people who sit for the exam because they’ve been asked to get certified, either by someone in the league or someone who’s draft-eligible. They then find out, to their surprise, that those players were less serious about signing with the agent than previously believed. Often, the agent doesn’t find this out until October or November, at which point he’s left trying to find someone else to recruit. Make the wrong recruiting decisions and you’ll never make other key contacts (scouts, college GMs, trainers). It’s a vicious cycle.

They trust the wrong people. From the players they sign to the trainers they hire to the draft analysts that solicit them, there are countless people who enter a new agent’s orbit. Some know more about the game than others. When you’re new to an industry, you don’t know where to place your trust, but you’re desperately seeking people worthy of it.

They run out of money. This is the most common one. So many people enter the game thinking their first $2500 (just to take the exam) and second $2500 (for fees and malpractice insurance) are a considerable barrier, but once they get past both, they’re home free. You haven’t even begun to spend money at that point. We’ve discussed this ad nauseam. Here’s one example.

They run out of time. As mentioned earlier, the new agent gets thrown into the fire rather quickly, and Year 1 is over almost before it starts. As an independent agent, if you don’t get a player on a roster in that first year — and only about 20 percent of independent agents pull that off — you now have two years to get it done. Maybe you make a contact here or there in scouting, get a decent referral or two in Years 2 and 3, but neither actually hit. You’ve finally built a network and kinda learned what you need to know . . . just in time for the clock to run out.

Ego, pure and simple. It sounds ridiculous, but there are still people who try to get into the industry because they want to be big shots. They want to have cool jobs that make their friends jealous. You see it all the time in their LinkedIn pages, their Instagram accounts, the pictures in their social media bios. When you enter the business with this kind of attitude, you don’t realize that there’s stuff you don’t know, and it is absolutely crucial to enter this business with humility.

What Does an ‘Expendable’ National Scout Look Like?

10 Friday Apr 2026

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There was a time when NFL teams would keep their most trustworthy and steadfast scouts around, basically, until they wanted to retire. Venerable NFL evaluator C.O. Brocato stayed on with the Titans well into his 80s, finishing up as a “scouting consultant.” Some teams still do this, handing out titles like “executive scout” or “senior scout” or something along those lines.

With a few exceptions, that stopped in 2018. That’s when two seasoned, experience National Scouts were let go. We didn’t see it happen in 2019, but since then, every year except one (2023), we’ve seen at least one National Scout with 10+ years in the league — in other words, a person with years of experience and a deep network of sources — let go. Last year, it happened to four National Scouts (Robert Haines, Panthers; Mike Derice, Giants; Jim Abrams, Dolphins; and Dujuan Daniels, Raiders). Two others — Michael Pierce (Rams) and Antwon Murray (Bucs) — left voluntarily, mostly due to reduced opportunities.

We can be almost certain that it will happen again this summer. Owners are looking for non-human sources of football intel (like analytics) while stocking their staffs with young (and cheaper) upstarts. Meanwhile, higher-salaried executives are being stockpiled as decisions are made at the highest levels. That means national scouts (who are usually making in the $200K-$300K range) are getting squeezed out.

So who are the best (?) candidates for seeing their scouting days come to an end this summer? We looked at 11 national scouts who were cut since 2018 to develop a profile. Here’s what we came up with.

They have lots of experience. On average, National Scouts let go over the last eight offseasons had 22 years in the business. So, basically, they were a little long in the tooth for national scout, the team decided they weren’t college director material, and they cut the cord. The least experienced had 13 years in. I’d say any National Scout with 15-plus years is vulnerable.

On average, they had been with their respective teams for a decade. I guess that’s plenty long enough for a team to know what it has. Actually, for most teams, it took a lot less than a decade. Of the 11, six had seven years or less with the team. So, lots of experience in scouting and 5-10 years with the team is pretty much the profile.

Most had been with at least one other team. On average, the 11 had been with at least one other team. Only two of the 11 were let go by the only team they had ever worked for. Again, that makes sense. These are veteran scouts that teams see, probably, as spare parts, hired guns, not people the team has developed. Eminently replaceable.

So who fits the profile? We counted 43 national (or regional) scouts in the league right now. Of the 43, we counted 15 with at least 22 years in the league. About a third of them have been with multiple teams.

Will the trend hold this year? We certainly hope not, and we’re not going to name them . . . it just doesn’t feel right. But we’ll be watching to see, and if any of those who profiled as job loss candidates do indeed get dismissed, we’ll let you know in this space. And if you’re one of those who fit the profile, we wish you the best of luck in the coming weeks.

Six Points: How to Be an NFL Agent on a Budget

03 Friday Apr 2026

Posted by in Agents, combine prep, Getting started, NFL draft, NIL, Transfer portal

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This week, I broke down the agent signings for the 1,700-plus prospects who’ve signed with contract advisors so far, per the latest NFLPA SRA report. Basically, I listed the players — sorted by P4, G5 and non-FBS schools — that each NFL agent has signed for the 2026 class. It paints an interesting picture.

One takeaway: 58 agents who just passed the exam last summer have not signed one client for the 2026 draft class. That’s about a third of all agents who got certified who have zero to show for their first year certified. And look, I know why — repping a players, a legit prospect, one who could be signed/drafted, costs at least $15,000.

Still, even if you don’t have the cash, there are ways to not waste Year 1. Here are a few suggestions.

Get into the NIL game: Even if you don’t sign a five-star high school player or a headline-grabbing potential transfer, repping college players gives you hands-on experience. But the best part is, there’s no training costs associated, so you’ll have something big to do in January that gets you used to dealing with players, their parents, coaches, schools, etc.

Sign a player after the middle of February: The main advantage here, obviously, is that most players already have their training plan in place by mid-February, which means you’re off the hook. Obviously, the draft class is a lot thinner by then, but it’s not too late to sign a good player if you’re careful. Believe it or not, 37 of the 450 players who made it to 90-man rosters as UDFAs didn’t sign with agents until after Feb. 16. What’s more, 116 of the 437 players brought in for tryouts signed Feb. 16 or later. Obviously, a rookie mini-camp invite only isn’t optimal, but at least it’s a chance to communicate with scouts.

Don’t sign a specialist: You want to start building your scouting network in Year 1. If you sign a kicker, punter or deep-snapper, you will be working mostly with special teams coaches. That’s not terrible, but it limits you. Specialists cost less to train, but you’re signing late enough that training costs shouldn’t be much of an encumbrance anyway.

Make sure your clients play positions with scarcity: Which positions are most in demand? Which ones aren’t? It’s all here. Sorry, it’s a pay link.

Make sure you sign a player in an NFL team’s metro market: This gets your client into a team’s local pro day. That’s big, even if it’s a team that doesn’t actually host workouts. The thing is, fewer teams are even having local pro days. Make sure you don’t sign a player from one of those nine markets.

If at all possible, sign a player from a P4 school: Obviously, we’re seeing an overwhelming accumulation of talent in the four most powerful conferences. Scouts have noticed. That’s not to say that smaller-school prospects don’t have a shot, but obviously, the ones playing with the big boys have less to prove.

A Needed Disclaimer on NIL Agency Significance

27 Friday Mar 2026

Posted by in Agents, College personnel, NIL, Transfer portal

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Earlier this month, on the ITL website, we posted a list of 30 agencies that seem to be doing the most business in the NIL space. Predictably, it’s created quite a stir with some of the agencies listed there (as well as some of the ones that weren’t). I think this calls for a disclaimer and maybe a clarification about the post.

Granted, we should have known it had the potential to explode, no matter what. That’s what social media is for, right? Making a big splash? Still, we tried to couch things by saying we were/are “seeking opinions from people in the industry” and that it was “based on initial feedback” only. We also closed the post by asking “where are we wrong?” and “where are we right?” Bottom line, the idea was to start a dialogue, not create a proclamation.

We’ve gotten a lot of feedback and rightfully so. Some firms have claimed that though they don’t do the raw numbers, their clientele has more star power. Or, they get more money for their clients. These claims have merit. Is the best metric raw numbers, or biggest clients, or dollars earned in deals? It’s probably a combination of all three, but given how undefined this industry is right now, it’s hard to find any objective truth. Then there’s the total number of agencies we listed. Is 30 a good number? Should it really be 25? Should it be 50? I don’t know. Again, 30 seemed like a good starting point.

Maybe we let this “out of the lab” too quickly. The thing is, you have to start somewhere, right? If we’re really going to find answers, we have to risk bruising some egos, even if that’s not intended. Fresh off our symposium, and maybe a little flush with its success, we wanted to keep pushing the conversation. We ran our list past several GMs and several top NIL agents, but it was in no way exhaustive or scientific. Honestly, I don’t know how much vetting would be enough, but I’m pretty sure it hadn’t been vetted sufficiently when we posted it. Again, it was a starting point, not a finished product.

With all that said, you still might see some NIL agencies touting their presence on the list. I guess I can’t stop them. But I think our post needed more perspective, so here it is. We stand behind our posts, but we also think you deserve the full picture.

We have a whole lot more to say about agencies, their roles, and the positives and negatives they bring to the NIL space in today’s Friday Wrap, which comes out at 7:30 p.m. EST. It’s free. If you’re not already registered for it, do that here.

Clearing Up a Few Misconceptions About Scouting

20 Friday Mar 2026

Posted by in NFL draft, Scouts

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We’re a little more than a month out from the draft, so that means there’s going to be a lot of talk of scouting, what scouts are doing, how scouts get their jobs (and lose their jobs), etc. There have been some dumb posts on social media already, and there are more to come. Here are a few things to remember as the topic of player evaluation comes up in the coming weeks/months.

  • Scouts tend to get released after the draft: Contracts typically are for two years and run through the end of April (sometimes May). That’s why a lot of people tend to watch our Twitter a little more closely in May. I can tell you there have already been some scouts released that haven’t been made public yet, but generally speaking, the turnover is going to start in May and will (mostly) be over by the end of June.
  • A fired scout does not equal a bad scout: Every year, we publish that a scout was let go by a team and fans get on social media and rejoice. It’s celebration day! Their favorite team has finally cut out the cancer! No, not really. More often than not, that scout got priced off the team. He’s not GM timber, he’s making well into six figures, and the team needs that money to pay its new analytics hire, or to give someone else a bump. The scout that gets let go didn’t do anything wrong. He’s just too expensive. For this reason, I’ve gotten used to seeing 3-4 good scouts terminated every year. I used to scratch my head when this happened. I don’t anymore. It’s simple economics.
  • Dismissals are independent of that year’s draft: I used to have this on a pinned tweet, but no owner (or GM) comes in the first day of May, declares that the team’s draft sucked, designates a certain evaluator as having done a poor job, and casts him onto the unemployment line. Decisions have already been made on which scouts will be dismissed this summer. We (and they) just have to wait to find out who they are.
  • Executive-level scouts are often called to cover pro days because no one else is available: This is important when you hear that a team’s Director of College Scouting attended a school’s pro day. It doesn’t necessarily mean that team is super-interested in one of that school’s players. There’s a LOT of ground to cover in March. It takes everyone.
  • A Top-30 visit doesn’t mean a team is drafting a player (or even considering it): This is pretty obvious, but still bears saying. The thing to understand is, most teams won’t sign a player unless he’s had a physical. So if a kid didn’t go to the Combine, a team might be bringing him in simply to get some answers, medically.

If you read our blog regularly, you probably already know these things, but maybe you didn’t. Well, now you do. Enjoy the draft.

Five Things for New NFL Agents to Know About Pro Days

13 Friday Mar 2026

Posted by in Agents, Getting started, ITL, NFL draft, Scouts

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Tonight, I gathered with several members of the 2025 NFLPA agent class to discuss pro days and the things they need to know this time of year. In the process, I developed 10 truths regarding pro days. I pulled five of them from my notes tonight, and they’re below.

Here’s my take on what new agents need to know about March.

  • No matter what scouts say, 40 times and pro day performances are important. This is something that was really brought home to we when I was writing my last book. It’s probably more true today than ever. A fringe prospect who tests poorly can take himself off most — maybe all — draft boards.
  • Pro days are not a right; scout coverage is not a right. I think that as the draft has grown in popularity, there’s a perception that every player gets his chance to shine in a workout. That’s not true. Even if every single NFL scout was dispatched to pro days across the country, they’d be tasked with gathering numbers on 1,500-2,000 players across about five weeks, and that’s just at the FBS level. Never mind that most are just not NFL-caliber players. Scouts are people, too.
  • One scout is way better than no scouts. I’ve had agents lament that there was only one, maybe two, scouts at a pro day. Most teams share numbers through what’s called the APT Coalition. If a player worked out at a remote school with minimal NFL talent, let’s face it — there’s probably better places for a scout to be.
  • If you get a player into a pro day, there’s a good chance he will only get to run a 40. Some schools are very liberal with how many players from other schools they allow to work out, but here’s the catch — they only let them run the 40. If their time doesn’t measure up, they don’t get to finish the rest of the drills. Once again, pro days are not a right, and scouts and school officials have to be economical with their time and efforts.
  • Pro liaisons often know less than you’d think. It’s not their fault. Their job is to help their respective teams win on Saturday, not get their players into the NFL. The point is, defer to them on some things, but make sure you verify everything they tell you.

Obviously, there’s plenty more to know about pro days as well as how to get a player his best pro day; the vagaries of alternative leagues like the CFL and UFL; NFL local pro days; and the all-important Day 3 of the NFL Draft. These are all things I covered tonight with Inside the League clients.

We didn’t record things, but I’ve got pretty detailed notes. Happy to share them if you join the ITL family.

A Few Thoughts on How We Can Improve Our Combine Events

06 Friday Mar 2026

Posted by in Agents, College personnel, ITL, Media, NIL, Transfer portal

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Forgive me if this is a little self-indulgent for a couple of events that have already taken place. However, I’ve spent the last week thinking about how we could make our two Indianapolis events last week, the 2026 Ellison Kibler at Merrill Lynch ITL Combine Seminar and the 2026 Dropback ITL Symposium, even bigger in 2027. Here’s what I’ve come up so far.

More space: We were smart enough to increase our space for Friday’s symposium — and thank the Lord that we did, because we had a packed house — and increased our space for Wednesday. However, we probably need to expand our space even further for both events. Hopefully we can return to the first floor while meeting our needs, size-wise.

More imaging: We improved our social media game since last year, but let’s face it: we had nowhere to go but up. I’ve had a lot of the participants from Wednesday and Friday seeking photos of themselves from the events. I get it. When you work in the shadows, you have to find a way to let others learn who you are (or, at least, what you look like). We’ve done a good job with photos for the seminar, but not always got the pictures out. Friday, our photography was minimal. We’ll do better on both counts next year, and we’ll get shots out to people from Wednesday sooner this year.

Registration: I think we have to cut off signups earlier. We also have to level up our registration process. We’ll be giving this more thought before next year. Several people got into the symposium late despite registering days, even weeks before the event. That’s not fair to them.

Roundtables: Panelists (agents and GMs) had a really difficult job. We posed some difficult questions (they’re in this email in case you were wondering), and it’s not easy to respond when there are 400 people in the room. Some of the feedback I got was that they might be more comfortable sitting at tables with only a few people from the community. I’ve seen this done at previous symposiums, and it came together really well. However, they didn’t have as many people as we had, and it requires signups well in advance so you can kinda plot things out. We had a significant amount of walkup registration and that will probably continue next year with schedules in Indianapolis so volatile. I’m not sure if we can pull this off. But maybe we’ll try.

Promotion: I devoted three newsletters and 3-4 podcasts to promoting our symposium; I also put a ribbon on our website with all the details. Still, we had members of some of the top agencies who expressed disappointment that they didn’t know we were having it. I’ll admit I focused my personal texts, emails and DMs on college GMs and directors, hoping that agencies would participate if we had enough members of the college personnel community. Next year, I’ll be more aggressive about reaching out, personally, to people who have attended in the past.

If you were there, and you have ideas, I’d love to hear what you’ve got. I’m sure there are things I’m missing. I want to make both our events the place the football community comes to share best practices and meet key people. I won’t stop trying to improve both. DM me on Twitter at @insidetheleague.

More Thoughts on Friday’s Symposium and Where We Are

01 Sunday Mar 2026

Posted by in College personnel, NIL, Transfer portal

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I’ve been thinking about our event Friday, the 2026 Dropback ITL Symposium, which took place Friday morning in the Indiana Convention Center before about 400 members of the college personnel community. We had 48 FBS schools represented, including 37 P4 schools and 20 GMs. Anyway, our two panels (three GMs, three NIL agents each) weighed in on 20 questions posed by Dropback founder Luke Bogus and myself over almost two hours on the second floor of the convention center.

I already posted a few takeaways in our Friday Wrap, but I had a few more today. First let’s get the cliches out of the way.

  • No one wants to take NIL payments away from players, no one is saying players shouldn’t be compensated for their images, etc.
  • Everyone is willing to let things be decided on the field, and no one is asking for mercy.
  • Everyone accepts that life isn’t fair.

With that said, there were a few recurring themes:

  • The January portal was a win, simply because it was one window instead of one in December and one in the spring. The timing is still tricky, but I don’t think there was a lot of pushback. If there was any, it was that there’s no certainty that this is the policy going forward. No one in a position of authority has declared the January window “the way” going forward.
  • The feeling on the panel was that money should go to veteran players. I mentioned this in the Friday Wrap, but Iowa GM Tyler Barnes raised the point that there should be some kind of cap on pay for high school players. Unknown players don’t have a lot of name recognition anyway, to say nothing of the limited snaps they usually play. We’ve seen the NFL basically do the same thing in the 2011 CBA. Unfortunately, this is probably wish casting as it would take federal legislation.
  • There’s clearly a lot of mystery about who represents which players; it’s so bad that one GM said he relies on journalists to tell him who represents whom. The problem here is that there’s nothing comparable to a Standard Representation Agreement (SRA), the document that the NFLPA requires players to sign when they agree to representation. Again, short of some kind of federal intervention or an opt-in to some governing body, that’s impossible.
  • With no rules, college officials and agents are left to rely on their own senses of honor; the value of relationships was mentioned so many times I lost count. However, as we know, morality is subjective, and honest people sometimes disagree. I raised the idea of some kind of code of conduct that could be accepted across the industry, but no one seemed to think that would make a difference. Unfortunately, the panelists are probably right.
  • You can argue about the makeup and effectiveness of the College Sports Commission (CSC), which is supposed to call balls and strikes on NIL deals, but you can’t argue that they’ve communicated effectively with schools. No one on either panel said he’d heard a word from the CSC. No one seemed to know much about what the CSC was doing, and given the role the CSC is supposed to play, that’s a concern. I hope someone at the CSC reads this. People in NCAA personnel offices would love to hear from them.
  • Unfortunately, for the second straight year, there was little to no optimism that tampering could be curbed, much less stopped. It’s admirable that the NCAA is trying to do something about it, but the panelists just shrugged their shoulders, figuratively, at these efforts. Even in the agent world, which is governed by the NFLPA, there’s almost no way to stop this. The player who benefits from such activity is never going to turn in his benefactor.
  • I was happy with the candor and honesty shown, but let’s be honest — when you’re giving opinions on touchy issues before a room of 400 people, it’s natural to edit yourself. The feedback is that people would be more open to talk in a roundtable situation, maybe 12 people talking about the issues. I’d like to think there’s someone out there that could provide such a forum, but who knows? Maybe I’m the one who should.

Just more stuff to think about. I think the problems facing the game may not be as overwhelming as some claim, but it’s not perfect. I hope ITL can be part of any solutions.

Here’s Why You Should Attend Our Combine Events

20 Friday Feb 2026

Posted by in Getting started, Scouts, Transfer portal

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The 2026 NFL Combine is next week. If you read this blog regularly, you know I encourage you to take chances if you want to work in football. Well, if you aren’t going to Indianapolis next week, and you want to be a scout, coach or agent, you’re making a mistake if you don’t go.

Why? Think about this.

If you want to accomplish your goals, you must seize opportunities. I know that travel, hotels, food, etc., cost money. But there’s more than just a financial risk you’re taking if you don’t go — there’s also an opportunity risk. You don’t know who you’ll meet if you go. But you know that if you don’t go, you definitely won’t meet anyone.

It’s a people business. To succeed in this business, you must be a hard worker, of course. However, if you don’t get the chance to work for anyone, it doesn’t matter. Every NFL head coach has been on a bad team at some point, but he got another opportunity in the game because of the people he’s worked with before. If you don’t know many people in the game, there’s only one way to change that.

The Combine offers the best chance to meet people. As we’ve discussed before in this space, we’re seeing a change in philosophy by NFL teams toward all-star games. At the same time, access at the biggest game of them all (the Senior Bowl) has been reduced significantly. It’s true that there are fewer NFL people that go to Indianapolis than there used to be, but there will still be droves of scouts, coaches, league officials, agents, trainers and others who could be really helpful in getting your big break.

We provide two shots at improving your chances. I’m sorry if this comes across as bragging, but I’d argue that the Combine is a better place to network than ever because of our seminar (Wednesday night) and symposium (Friday morning). For $100 (or for no money if you already work for an FBS team), you can associate with literally hundreds of NFL scouts (Wednesday) and NCAA personnel (Friday) in a relaxed, collegial atmosphere. All the details for the weekend are in last week’s Friday Wrap.

Still not sold? Read today’s Friday Wrap (register here), in which we’ll discuss the panelists, review topics, answer frequent questions, list the awards, and provide other details that may make it sexy enough for you to be at one or both of them. Remember:

  • 2026 Ellison Kibler at Merrill Lynch ITL Seminar: Weds, Feb. 25, 530 pm. Room 205, Indiana Convention Center. No cost, no registration.
  • 2026 Dropback ITL Symposium: Friday, Feb. 27, 830 am. Room 205, Indiana Convention Center. Register here. Free to FBS personnel; all others $100.

Hope to see you there.