2026 Personnel Symposium: Getting from an A to an A-plus

07 Friday Aug 2026

Posted by in Agents, All Star Games, College personnel, Getting started, Media, NIL, Transfer portal

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Obviously, it was a great week in Nashville. Anytime you have 1,500 members of a rather distinct (and maybe even secretive) community in one place over the space of three days, sharing ideas and best practices, that’s a good thing. From GMs at P4 and G5 schools to all-star directors to NFL and NIL agents to NFL scouts to vendors of every stripe, there were a LOT of hands to shake and relationships to make or renew. There was free coffee and beverages by day and agency socials at night. I can’t imagine anyone that attended didn’t see it as a major benefit.

Check out this brief anecdote from someone chasing his dream: “The best thing of the week was the advice I received from (one NFL team official). After I finished my brief intro, I told her I would try to get my foot in the door for roughly three years and she looked at me and said, ‘don’t quit five minutes before the miracle.’ Gave me the chills.”

You don’t normally get that from an email, a text, or even a Zoom session.

Of course, there’s always a way to tailor things, polish them a little, maybe even improve them. That’s the nature of any business. For our part, we found it a little hard to hear in the back of the room sometimes. Maybe that’s on us — the people sitting in front likely had no problems — but if there was anything we’d improve, that would be it.

With that in mind, we asked several attendees if there’s anything they’d improve. Here’s what they told us.

  • “I appreciate the panels and realize they are good learning opportunities for some of the younger folks but they feel a bit promotional rather than informative. Obviously nobody is revealing state secrets anymore so I don’t know how much of that can change. . . at the GM meeting . . . I don’t think they structured it right. Teamworks made a big presentation which was boring. Then they had this anonymous compensation survey that no big spender did. I think you have to make it more discussion-based.”
  • “The symposium has outgrown the space. The talks on Tuesday were wall-to-wall people, so you had to grab a seat and hold onto it or risk standing in the back and not being able to hear.”
  • “(There are) some really great speakers. I think having more space could be something good to add!”
  • “I think there could have been more granular/in-depth sessions around roster construction and cap management. I understand it was not intended to be tailored towards that, but I think given how mission-critical revenue share and player finance is, perhaps there could have been some more focus on that.”
  • “What I think could be better is to have a deadline for room block-offs at the hotel.”
  • “Think some of the meetings were repetitive a little bit.”
  • “First thought of improvement that comes to mind is a larger conference area.”
  • “Too many times it felt like breakout rooms were so small and the hallway had more foot traffic than it could handle.”

Personnel Symposium 2026: My Most Anticipated Sessions

31 Friday Jul 2026

Posted by in Getting started, ITL, NIL, Transfer portal, College personnel

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If you’re like me, you know the backbone of working in the business of football is your network. You get your job, and you get better at your job, through the people you know. It’s why I started the ITL Symposium and why I rarely miss chances to be among the people in the industry. This is why I’m not missing next week’s Personnel and Recruiting Symposium in Nashville, and I highly recommend you try to be there, too.

The list of sessions has been posted, and if you’ve been previously, you know that you can attend whatever session you want during the three days (half-day Monday, full day Tuesday, half-day Wednesday) of the event. Here are the six places you’ll be sure to find me next week.

  • How Will AI Change Scouting and Roster Building, presented by Teamworks (Monday, 4:45 p.m.): “AI” is the word on everyone’s lips these days; you may have heard that one college football blue blood team has even hired a Director of AI. As a guy who’s been accused of being old-fashioned, I look forward to hearing what direction AI is taking the game. I look forward to having my mind blown.
  • Social presented by Hudl (Monday, 6:30 p.m.): Look, if you can only make one session, it needs to be this one. Last year, I’d estimate there were 400 people in one giant room talking, renewing acquaintances and making new contacts. If you work in college or pro football, and you are serious about your career, you gotta be in this room Monday night.
  • Building a Front Office – Staff Structures (Tuesday, 11 a.m.): In my opinion, this is the most critical topic in the business that not enough people are talking about. If you listen to the podcast I co-host regularly, you know that everyone in the game is on an endless quest to find out the most efficient way of doing their respective jobs. I’m eager to hear what is discussed Tuesday morning.
  • Realities of NFL Scouting vs College Personnel (Tuesday, 4 p.m.): Though a lot of people don’t realize it, there’s a difference between player evaluation at the NFL level as opposed to college. Though this title is a little vague, I hope this addresses the vagaries of both — as well as how the jobs, pressures, demands differ.
  • Pro Liason Programming + Scout Relationships (Tuesday, 5 p.m.): There is an art to developing relationships, and the ups and downs of how NFL scouts and their college counterparts deal with each other is something we discuss and think about quite a bit. I’m eager to hear more from people in the industry about this topic.
  • Advancement Strategies for Young Professionals (Wednesday, 9:30 a.m.): Last year, the symposium kind of became a ghost town on Wednesday morning; as I recall, even some of the vendors left early. Maybe that’s why organizers have chosen to put three career development sessions on Wednesday morning. I chose to spotlight this one, but really, any of the three (the other two are “Career Development – Tips for Young Evaluators” and another one simply called “Career Development”) seem helpful. As someone who’s focused on helping others’ career development 24-7, I’m always looking for tips on how I can best help my people.

By the way, if you’re curious about who will be in Nashville next week, we’re compiling a list of college GMs who are confirmed for the Music City. It will be in the Friday Wrap later today. Register for it here. See you in Nashville.

2026 NFL Agent Exam: Now What?

24 Friday Jul 2026

Posted by in Getting started, ITL, Agent Exam

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If you just took the NFL Agent Exam on Monday, you probably spent Tuesday (and maybe Wednesday) catching your breath and trying to forget about the CBA for a while. Inevitably, however, you’re going to get antsy and start wondering what you can do to kill time until late August/early September. If so, here are a couple ideas.

Network: A lot of people think this means sending LinkedIn requests to everyone you can find with “scout” in their bio. Nothing could be further from the truth. You’ve got to get out there, not just between now and the end of August, but always. One place you can go to meet people in the game is Nashville, Aug. 3-5. It also might benefit you to get a handle on the all-star calendar for January (and, if you get bad news in six weeks, maybe even consider volunteering with one of them).

Research the game: Read books, as Clemson personnel executive Kevin Kelly recommended on a recent episode of the Scouting the League Podcast. Come to think of it, listen to our podcast — and any other podcast that talks about the business of the game more so than who to draft for fantasy football. There’s good stuff out there that’s very affordable. Did I mention that I’ve written three books about the business of the game?

Explore NIL representation: This is probably a dumb recommendation, because so many people waiting for their results are already NIL agents, but if not, plan to wade into the portal next year. There are so many basics of the game — identifying talent, getting comfortable dealing with parents, making contacts — that you don’t need a license to learn.

Join the Stratic Zoom coming next week: My colleagues at Stratic — who just got done teaching an excellent exam prep course — are setting up an online session with an NFL scout or executive next week. Contact Shane or Christian at Generation Sports Group for more details.

Be ready for Oct. 1: Think positively. Presuming you pass, things are going to move very quickly. You need to know exactly what states you plan to recruit, what kinds of players you’ll be looking for, and how much money you can spend. We’ll discuss all of that in our Agent Basics course in September, but in the meantime, give some (detailed) thought to strategy.

Develop your brand: It’s not at all uncommon to find agents who pass the exam, but don’t have a name for their agency, much less a logo, a social media presence, etc. This is not necessarily the most important part of the business — in fact, some people put way too much energy into these things — but it still has value. It gives you a sense of identity.

Get to know who’s succeeding in the game: You can’t know how to win until you study the people and the agencies who are winning. There’s no better way to do that than by joining us at Inside the League. Also, I recommend registering for our weekly newsletter on the game, the Friday Wrap. It’s free.

2026 NFL Agent Exam: Reviewing All Our Exam Posts This Year

17 Friday Jul 2026

Posted by in Getting started, Agents, Agent Exam

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At this point, if you’re taking the NFL Agent Exam Monday, you’re probably pretty closed to tapped out mentally, emotionally and, most of all, financially. Even though our prep program (and our program partner, Stratic) are much cheaper than anything else you’ll find, they aren’t free.

Anyway, regardless of whether you rolled with us this cycle or not, you deserve a break, and we’re here to give it to you. We’ve been writing about the 2026 NFL Agent Exam literally since January, so today, we’re going to review everything we’ve written about it and put it in one place. Maybe when you need a study break, you can review a few of our posts and learn a little while catching your breath. Here goes.

  • A Few First Thoughts (1.9.26): We had to start somewhere. In this post, we outlined the coming seven months and our plan for preparing people, plus we discussed our Stratic partners and the training they provide and we teased our new agent exam application.
  • The Cost and the Risk (1.23.26): Maybe you prepped for Monday without spending a dime. You still might pass the exam, but you’re going to be beating the odds. In late January, we wrote about how that applies not just to exam prep, but to the entire business. Sometimes, you just have to spend money (wisely) to make money. That’s definitely true in the agent business.
  • From NFLPA Exam Prep to First NFL Draft: Rookie Agent Reactions from Team ITL (4.24.26): If you’re a little burned out this weekend, and want a reminder on why you’re doing all this, read this post. Being an NFL agent is a really cool thing when done right, and April 2027 is going to be an exciting time. This post gives you comments from several new agents as they faced their first-ever drafts, respectively.
  • Building Community (5.1.26): This post covered a fun event we had for our Houston-based test-takers and a handful of NFL agents from the area. It was a good chance to get the next agent class together with current contract advisors for some real advice on passing the exam and more.
  • The Final Push (6.26.26): Now inside of 30 days till the exam, we listed our final three Zoom sessions and what each would provide. We also reminded test-takers about our new exam application, which was a tremendous upgrade from our previous practice exams.
  • All About the Study Guide (7.2.26): Our study guide is something we’re really proud of, and probably the crown jewel of our exam prep services. For the first time, we went in-depth on what it is and why it’s so valuable.
  • Your 10-Day Cram Plan (7.10.26): Even though we started getting our people ready in February, we realize life happens. Starting your exam prep 10 days out is not advised, but for those that found that to be their reality, we offered best practices to improve the odds of passing.

Want even more? If football is your thing, and you want even more about the game behind the game, click here to get a complete rundown of all our posts so far.

2026 NFL Agent Exam: Your 10-day Cram Plan

10 Friday Jul 2026

Posted by in Agent Exam, Agents, Getting started

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As of today, we are exactly 10 days (and two weekends) from the 2026 NFL Agent Exam. Yes, there are still people who really haven’t started studying yet in earnest (I’ve spoken to them).

I’m not here to judge. Instead, I’d rather help (or at least try to). If you’re not really getting going on studying until this weekend, here’s my advice.

  • Take next week off of work. You’re going to need the time. Hopefully your boss is understanding.
  • Start with the study guide. I went into detail on the guide — bar none, the best resource on the market for passing the exam — in last week’s post. Focus on all 70 pages. It will give you a head start on next week’s Zoom sessions. Purchase it here.
  • Spend Friday, Saturday and Sunday doing nothing but studying the guide. Pretty self-explanatory. Try to get a grasp on all the major concepts.
  • Take the ITL practice exam application Sunday night. Then take it again Monday morning. Then again Monday afternoon. You have to find out exactly where you stand and what you still need work on as soon as possible.
  • Identify the areas where you still need work. This needs to happen before Tuesday.
  • Pick up the applicable ITL Zoom videos that cover the topics you still aren’t grasping. You can find all of the links to order them, as well as the topics they cover, in last week’s Friday Wrap. Look for the month-by-month list about halfway through the Wrap.
  • Spend all of Tuesday watching the videos on your weakest topics. Watch them and re-watch them until you have at least a working understanding, whether it’s forfeitable breach or VSB or term pay or agent change fees. Ian Greengross, our guru, is very good, and he goes into painstaking detail on all the toughest subjects.
  • Get some sleep Tuesday night. You’re going to want to be able to put all your focus on the NFLPA’s three pre-exam sessions.
  • Take extensive notes Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Your study guide will be a tremendous help here. A word of caution — many, many people on the Zooms will clearly be lost and asking dumb questions. Be prepared for a lot of time-wasters. It’s better if you aren’t going in cold, and you won’t be. But use these sessions to get your questions answered.
  • Make contact with Ian in preparation to work with him Saturday and Sunday. You’ll be glad you have him on call. His rates are very reasonable. You can find his contact info online. If not, DM us on X at @insidetheleague and we’ll hook you up.
  • Join us for our Saturday night review session. We’ll start at 8pm EDT and go for two hours, covering two previous exams. Cost is $80 plus tax. You’ll also get a copy of the recording afterwards.
  • Review the review video on Sunday and use it to “clean up” any hazy topics with Ian. Also, make absolutely sure your notes (CBA, study guide, etc.) are tabbed up for quick reference during the exam. You can thank me later.
  • Get some sleep Sunday night. It will come in handy.

Obviously, you’re not in a desirable place if you’re just getting started, but we can help, and believe it or not, it’s not mission impossible. Pretty close to impossible, but not impossible. Good luck. Let us know how we can help.

2026 NFL Agent Exam: All About the Study Guide

02 Thursday Jul 2026

Posted by in Agent Exam, Agents, Getting started, ITL

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There are less than three weeks until the 2026 NFL Agent Exam, so I thought it appropriate today to write about the best resource on the market, hands down, for preparing for the big day, our study guide, which you can order here. First, a few details.

  • It’s 70 pages. Concise and to the point. No AI fluff. Nothing but the content you need to pass the exam.
  • It arrives as a PDF we email you immediately upon purchase. We try to get orders sent out within an hour, and I, personally, make sure all orders are received. That’s important to me. I know time is of the essence.
  • The first year we offered it was 2013, so it’s been around for more than 10 years. I don’t have exact numbers, but we’ve sold hundreds of them.
  • The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is 500-plus pages, so it’s easy to get bogged down reading it. I always compare studying the CBA to pass the exam to reading a dictionary to learn a language. You may learn terms, but you’ll never get the syntax, how stuff fits together, the examples you need to really grasp things.
  • It really gives a comprehensive overview of the essential info needed to pass the exam. Most students find it helpful to have during the pre-exam Zoom sessions the NFLPA hosts the week before the test. Rather than trying to scribble or type furiously as they’re going over things, you’ve already got a pretty good summation right there in front of you.
  • The CBA gets updated every year — mostly tightening a few things up and adding something here or there — so we update ours, too. It’s all contemporary with the NFLPA’s latest CBA tweak, which was in 2020.

When we first started offering our study guide, I was a little reluctant. Could I really stand behind a manual I didn’t write, didn’t know, wasn’t sure about? I can tell you that those questions have been answered, in spades, in the years since. A couple weeks ago in the Friday Wrap, several of last year’s test-takers who worked with us gave their advice on passing, and there were numerous spontaneous, on-the-record testimonials for the study guide. Here are a few:

  • “I re-wrote my own version of every section of ITL’s study guide in a separate notebook. Twice. Writing crystallizes your thinking. So write, write, write. Get as many reps in as possible, even if you think you know it.” – Winston Venable, Venable Sports Group
  • “The best advice I have would be the exam is straight forward, memorize the info on the study guide, work through the practice tests a whole bunch, and you will be fine.” – Matt Baldeck (independent)
  • “I think for me in the last month, I focused my time on watching and/or rewatching Ian’s videos, reviewing the study guide, and taking every practice test I could find. I did not spend much time, if any, reviewing the CBA.” – Lane Macaluso, Macaluso Law

The rave reviews didn’t end last year. “Been using the study guide and exam tool — helping a ton,” texted one of this year’s aspiring contract advisors. “The study guide has been a huge help and a solid basis for the outline I’ll carry with me on test day,” texted another.

I urge you to give our study guide a try. It’s the best decision you can make if you want to pass the exam. You won’t be sorry if you pick it up.

2026 NFL Agent Exam: The Final Push

26 Friday Jun 2026

Posted by in Agent Exam, Agents, Getting started

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Five of the top 18 agents in the business, based on total active clients, used our practice exam to prepare for the NFL Agent Exam. Keep in mind, only eight of the 18 have even gotten certified since we introduced our practice exam in 2012. I feel good about that. Still, you have to keep improving, and that’s why we rolled out our new practice exam application.

We’ve already gone into detail about how much better the new application is than our previous practice exams, which have 50 questions each and don’t change (unlike our new app). However, we need to turn the page. That’s why, with 24 days until the 2026 exam, we’re closing down both practice exams on Monday (June 29).

If you bought the practice exam last year, which gave you access for a full year, continue to use both practice exams with our blessing . . . until Monday. After Monday, if you’d like to have access to our new app, contact us directly and we’ll work something out. We won’t leave anyone out in the cold.

One more thing. Circle July 7, 9 and 18 on your calendar. Those are the dates of our three remaining Zoom sessions.

  • On Tuesday, July 7, we’ll have our final monthly session. We’ll focus on benefits, which has been a central theme of the actual exam for the last few years. We normally go an hour, but this might be an extra-long session as we try to be as comprehensive as possible. Cost is $50 plus tax.
  • Thursday, July 9, we’ll have our “pressure test.” We’ll post 20 new questions on the website, at 7pm EDT sharp, and at 8 pm, Chicago-based agent Ian Greengross will work all 20. It’s a good way to find out if you’re on track, time wise, to take the exam. If you can work 20 questions in an hour, you’re in good shape for the exam. Cost is $65 plus tax.
  • Finally, on Saturday, July 18, we’ll have our traditional two-hour cram session. We’ll cover two previous agent exams, question by question, to make sure all our clients are ready to roll. Cost is $80 plus tax.

You can purchase all three for less than $200. If you purchase our new exam application, our study guide and all three of next month’s sessions, you’ll spend about half of other exam prep courses and get the most test, most successful and most proven content available for passing the test.

We’ll have all the links to order in next week’s Friday Wrap. Make sure you’re keeping up with everything by registering for it (it’s free). Do that here.

Here’s Your Summer Guide for Getting Ahead in Football

17 Wednesday Jun 2026

Posted by in College personnel, Getting started, NFL draft, NIL, Scouts

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If you’re truly interested in finding a job in football, and you haven’t yet, you can’t use the summer to lay on the beach. June, July and August have become primetime for meetups and conferences that give you a chance to find opportunities. The key is finding the ones that are well-attended and reasonably priced.

Here are three I’ll be attending this summer. I’ve only been to one of them previously, but I’m pretty confident all three are going to be outstanding events.

ADs for Christ Summer Gathering (Birmingham) — Next weekend — Obviously, this one comes with a faith component, so if you’re not a committed Christian, it’s probably not the place for you. On the other hand, as long as you keep the main thing the main thing, it’s a golden opportunity. The speaker lineup includes SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, Missouri AD Laird Veatch, Ole Miss Senior Deputy AD Eric Wood and more. Jessica Lopez, a key member of the Miami (Fla.) personnel office, runs this, and she’s incredibly organized — she just thinks of everything. This will be my first time attending, but it’s been going on for 10 years. Can’t wait to be there. And cost is just $100. That’s amazing. But again, this is for people who take their faith seriously.

OL Masterminds Summit (Dallas) — July 10-11 — This one is probably more by invitation only, but if you are around offensive linemen much at all, you know who Duke Manyweather is. His annual summit is a big deal, and draws some of the most established names in the game when it comes to centers, guards and tackles (and the people who work with them). Duke has dedicated himself to offensive linemen, whether they’re prospective draft picks or veterans, and has built an incredible reputation for making them better.

Personnel & Recruiting Symposium (Nashville) — Aug. 3-5 — This one is a little pricey but still may sell out. Last year, I think they almost ran out of room at the Renaissance Nashville and I kinda expected them to move it this year. Anyway, it’s really well-run and just overrun with college personnel staffers, NIL and NFL agents, NFL scouts and executives and others associated with the game. The class sessions are great but making and renewing acquaintances is the main reason to be there, especially if you’re still on the new side and trying to build a network.

Which Teams Value RAS the Most?

11 Thursday Jun 2026

Posted by in NFL draft, Scouts

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On our podcast, Rodrik David and I sometimes debate the value of traits when it comes to making draft picks. I think it’s fair to say Rodrik is a big believer in traits, while I wonder if they’re being increasingly overvalued these days. It seems to me that, as I study the draft, teams are looking more than ever at triangle numbers (and other analytics) over film. In some cases, I think traits might far exceed film. But is there any way to really measure this?

One way, I think, is to look at the players teams pick in the seventh round. Many teams use seventh-rounders as dart throws, knowing no teams are going to lose their jobs if a draftee in the last round fails. Of course, all teams say they chose the best player available, but did they really just take the best athlete available?

Obviously, we can’t say anything conclusively. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all. However, we can look at the numbers over the past three drafts and see which teams seem to put a higher emphasis on athleticism, at least as measured by Relative Athletic Score. If you’re new to RAS, spend some time on this website. Basically, RAS gives you a more complete measure of a player’s testing scores. Not long ago, draftniks marveled at a player’s 40 time, but as popular analysis has matured, it’s become clear that a 170-pound guy running a 4.4 is not the same as when a 230-pound guy does it. OK, let’s look at the teams that value RAS most on Day 3, specifically, in Round 7.

Before we get started, 10.0 is a perfect RAS. Any score between 8.0 and 10.0 is considered in the green zone, i.e., exceptional athleticism. The next tier measures athleticism between 7.99 and 5.0, which is still better than average (that’s the orange zone). Anything below 5.0 is in the red zone and substandard for an NFL prospect.

  • Colts: Indy has picked four times in the seventh round the last three years. Every single one of them has had a 9+ RAS. As you (may) know, the Colts won a Best Draft Award for their picks in 2018.
  • Broncos: While some teams use their seventh-rounders as throw-ins, the Broncos are the opposite, having drafted in the seventh round seven times in the last three years (tied with the Broncos for the most in the league). How did they use those picks? Four of the seven are “green” (two were 9+) and all seven were 6.35 or higher. No “red” picks. By the way, like the Colts, the Broncos are a past Best Draft winner (for the 2021 draft).
  • Giants, Jets: Both teams have chosen just twice in the last three years, but each picked a 9+ and an 8+ RAS player when they did pick. Obviously, it’s a very limited sample, but still interesting.
  • Steelers: For a team with an old-school reputation, Pittsburgh sure seems attentive to workout numbers. Four picks, three greens, one orange.

On the other hand, which teams seem to spend their seventh-rounders based on other factors besides pure athleticism? Let’s take a look.

  • Cowboys: Dallas was tied for second in most seventh-rounders since 2024 with six, but is nowhere near as beholden to RAS as other teams. I think this is especially interesting given that the Cowboys are one of the teams that have most completely embraced analytics. Two of their picks didn’t even have RAS scores, which is usually an indication that the player was hurt and couldn’t test pre-draft. Another had a terrible RAS, though he’s more of a two-gap defensive tackle and those guys rarely have gleaming triangle numbers. Just one of the six had a 9+ score. Clearly, Dallas isn’t looking for freaks in Round 7.
  • Texans: Houston profiles very closely with its Lone Star cousin. One green, three orange (two of which had really blah numbers), one red, plus one no-RAS.
  • Seahawks: Seattle, which won a Best Draft Award for its work in the 2022 draft, doesn’t rely on lazy parameters to decide who to draft. Of their six seventh-rounders over the past three years, one was a no-RAS, one was a red, two were green, and two orange.

Also of note:

  • Of the top 10 RAS scores among seventh-rounders since 2024, the Colts have selected two of them (Oklahoma DE Jonah Laulu in 2024, who had a 9.62, and Kentucky OH Seth McGowan in April, who had a 9.47).
  • The Broncos drafted two in the top 15 highest RAS scores in the seventh round since 2024: South Carolina OC Nick Gargiulo in 2024 (9.45 RAS) and Utah TE Dallen Bentley this year (9.4).
  • The Jags and Ravens joined the Cowboys in drafting two players each with no RAS score.
  • The Patriots are the only team that picked two players with bottom 11 RAS scores among seventh-rounders over the last three years.

So You Want To Be An NIL Agent? Some Cautionary Tales

05 Friday Jun 2026

Posted by in NIL, Transfer portal

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After years of the player representation business being infinitely difficult, it’s been a little easier to be bullish since the dawn of the NIL era. Of course, nothing lasts forever, and it’s gotten a lot tougher of late.

Here’s one example. I’m hearing lately that the new play is for four- and five-star high school players to let their parent/coach/attorney troll for deals, taking the low-hanging fruit offer and committing. Once this is done, here’s the pitch to the prospective agent: we’ll pay you a commission if you can go to the school we committed to and get a better deal. Oh, by the way, we also need you to go out and find us “traditional” NIL opportunities (signings, appearances, social media posts, etc.). So that means the agent has a choice: he can tell the kid to take a walk, or he can risk burning bridges and looking completely unreasonable to school officials.

This is hardly the only way NIL agents are getting abused. Here are a few more examples I’ve gotten from some friends in the business.

  • One interviewed with a player over Zoom with the player and his friend, the player’s parents, his ex-coach, his marketing director and the player’s wealth manager. The kicker: the agent had to hear the wealth manager — with whom he shares several clients — tell him he was billing at too high a rate. After the Zoom, the money guy then begged him not to be mad.
  • “We had one client sign with us, then try to get out of paying our fee, saying we signed the contract for him — when it was done on Docusign and had his own IP address and town he’s from attached to the location.”
  • “(An ACC head coach) called a dad of one of our clients saying we were asking for too much. Client later signed for $2M to play QB at another ACC school.”
  • (A Big Ten head coach) did something similar, but said we were lying about offers we had to the family. Then five months later, offered that same number we supposedly lied about (it was of course not a lie).”
  • “I had a dad of a 2027 high school player asking me if we do loans/stipends. When i said the kid is 16, what does he need it for? The dad responded with, ‘hey man, he’s gotta live.’”
  • “I had a player turn down two years, $2 million to go to Alabama after the 2024 season because he said he had ‘a dream that (Florida State) would go to the CFB playoff.’ They went on to go 5-7. Beat Alabama in Game 1, but guess who went to the playoff?”