Monthly Archives: September 2021

You’re a New NFLPA Agent: Here’s How to Recruit

24 Friday Sep 2021

Posted by in Agents

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A little more than a week ago, prospective NFLPA contract advisors got the results from the CBA exam they took this summer. So what’s their next step? Well, getting out the checkbook, unfortunately — they now have to pay their NFLPA and insurance fees. After that, however, it will be time to get started on one of the most exciting years of their professional careers.

I get a lot of questions this time of year on what a rookie agent needs to do to jump-start their nascent careers. Here’s what I tell them.

  • Don’t even consider players that are rated Day 1/Day 2 by any draft services: Look, NIL signings (check our grid here) have reduced the number of players who are even in the draft pool, especially when it comes to the true marquee players in the ’22 draft class. You need to instead know which players are Day 3/UDFA prospects on the FBS level. We do that for all 120-odd FBS schools in our Profile Reports. By the end of the first week of October, we’ll have broken down each of the  129 D-1 schools.
  • Recruit locally: Yes, Zoom has changed the way contract advisors recruit, and your travel costs will be reduced. However, at some point, you will need to sit in a player’s living room and pitch your services. It’s cheaper and easier to do that — especially when a player gives you a last-minute invite — if you can drive there. We list the hometowns of top players in our Profile Reports. More on them later.
  • When recruiting, target non-sexy positions that are in high demand: Most agents are excited about the industry and want to sign players a little like they draft their fantasy team, i.e., they want touchdown-scorers. There’s a better way. Consider our Draft by the Numbers summaries over the past seven years to know exactly which positions are actually in demand, and which ones are over-saturated when it comes to NFL quotas. You might be surprised to find out which positions are  signed most heavily, and which ones are most scarce.

Here’s a look at 10 more questions we usually get:

  • Which states should I register in? Which ones are less restrictive?
  • Which all-star games should I pursue to for invitations for my players? How do I know who to contact? How do I contact them?
  • What do I say when I get to the final presentation with a client?
  • Who are the affordable and competent trainers? What do I say to a player who wants to go to a trainer I don’t know, or can’t afford?
  • The player’s school tells me I can’t talk to him until after the season. What do I do now?

For answers to these questions and more, consider becoming part of the ITL family. We will address all these topics in the ITL Rising Contract Advisor Newsletter, which starts in November and continues through draft day as part of our $29.95/mo cost. It’s no extra charge, and covers pretty much every topic that needs to be covered. If you used our exam prep materials, you already know what our newsletter is like.

Want even more? Make sure you’re registered for our Friday Wrap, where we talk about all these topics every week. The key to success in this industry is keeping abreast of all the information related to the business as it happens, and the Wrap (you can register for it here) is a wise step in that direction. Join the nearly 6,000 NFL insiders (agents, scouts, coaches, players and their parents, marketing professionals, compliance experts, trainers, wealth managers and more) who read our industry missive every week.

Ask the Agent: How’d the 2021 Exam Go?

17 Friday Sep 2021

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As you know, the people who took the 2021 NFL Agent Exam in August got their results this week. It was an emotional time, for a lot of reasons, as some people got the news that they’d been waiting years to hear, while others found out they’d have to wait another year (or in some cases, five) to realize their dreams.

I wanted to get a feel for how test-takers felt about not just the test, but the industry, so I asked hundreds of them to take part in a brief survey this week. No surprise that most of those who responded (about 70 percent) passed the exam. Here are the questions and answers that I found interesting.

Whether or not you passed or failed, did the results surprise you?: After spending the week hearing from would-be agents shocked that they failed, I was surprised that the majority (55%) answered, ‘no.’ A little more than a fifth (22 %) said, ‘yes.’ I think this had to do with so many people who did well taking the survey.

What was your take on the exam?: Again, the survey answers didn’t match up with  my one-on-one conversations this week. There really wasn’t much separating the top three responses: pretty straightforward/not especially difficult (38.6%); tough but fair (31.6%); and tough and confusing (28.1). I heard quite often this week that some of the topics on the exam weren’t in the pre-exam seminar, but the response, ‘the subjects tested weren’t what I expected’ got only 1.8% of the responses.  

the next two questions dealt with our exam prep materials, and I was happy with the feedback. On the question, how helpful were ITL’s study materials, about half (46.6%) called them a “true difference-maker” and the other half (48.3%) said they were “more helpful than not.” Only about five percent total said they either “neither helped or hurt” or “minimal or no help.” On the question, which one of our study materials was most helpful, most (51.7%) said our study guide, edging out our practice exams (46.6%). 

Where the responses were more in line with what I expected was in the two NIL questions.

Whether or not you passed, how do you feel about the name, image and likeness era?:  The majority (50.9%) said “it’s definitely going to be impactful in the area of football representation,” while “it will be impactful to some players and schools, but not across the board” garnered 43.9%. Next, we asked the question, how prepared are you to operate in the NIL field? About a third (36.2%) said “I feel very confident I can make money with NIL outside of traditional player representation,” while almost half (46.5%) said, “not sure, but I see NIL as a real opportunity and a potential advantage, and I would like to learn more.” I agree.

We’ll talk more about the exam and the reaction to it in the Friday Wrap. Make sure to register for it here.

 

War Story Thursday: Calling (For) Your Shot

09 Thursday Sep 2021

Posted by in Coaches

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This week, as I interviewed former Giants scout Steve Devine for our weekly Catching Up feature in tomorrow’s Friday Wrap (register here so you don’t miss our feature on Steve), our conversation drifted beyond the interview, as so often happens. One story, in particular, was appropriate for this space, where I try to encourage and enlighten young people interested in getting in the game.

Steve made several stops along a lengthy coaching career that pre-dated his time scouting for the Giants, and late in 1988, he found himself at San Diego State as offensive line coach under Al Luginbill. That year, as one of his collateral duties, he was in charge of hiring the grad assistants. He had just about filled all his spots when he found one last candidate that fit the bill perfectly, but who hedged before accepting the position. Steve was a bit frustrated, but willing to wait. That’s when his phone rang.

The call was International, and it came from the obscure coach of an English pub team. The coach called because he’d heard the Aztecs had an opening and he wanted badly to be considered for the job. He explained that he’d played at Eastern Illinois, then bounced around indoor football leagues (even getting a cup of coffee during the strike year in 1987 with the Bears) before finding himself coaching and playing in an overseas league. Though Steve liked the young man’s initiative, drive and attitude, he didn’t have any openings.

“Thanks for your interest, Sean, but I think we’re full,” Steve said, politely dismissing the enthusiastic young coach.

The next day came and went with no word from the coach Steve was hoping to hire. It wasn’t late yet, but it was getting late. Still no call . . . from the coach he hoped to hire, anyway. There was a call, though. It was from his new friend, Sean.

“Hey Coach Devine,” said the overseas caller. “Just wanted to check and see if anything had opened up.”

Steve told him, no, still nothing, but thanks for the call, anyway. After a bit more friendly small talk, they hung up.

On Day 3, Steve was starting to get antsy and eager to fill all his openings. That’s why, when the young coach called again, it gave him pause. Still, when the caller expressed his interest in the position — and guaranteed that he would be there when needed, no questions asked — Steve could offer encouragement but no interview.

On Day 4, Steve could wait no longer. The coach he wanted still wasn’t calling, and it was time to move forward. Surprisingly, he didn’t hear from his friend Sean. That is, not until 11 p.m. PST.

“Hey Coach Devine,” said the young coach. “I’m still really interested in that job. Has anything opened up?”

Yes, there’s an opening, Steve finally told him. But there were caveats. No. 1, he could give him no more than an interview, with no guarantees. No. 2, the interview would take place in 24 hours. No exceptions. No. 3, San Diego State had no travel budget for its interviewees. Basically, the young coach would have to drop what he was doing, pay his own way to fly and drive thousands of miles, and be fresh and ready enough to interview immediately. Done, said Sean. Naturally, it wasn’t that easy.

For whatever reason, he didn’t fly directly into San Diego. Instead, he flew into Chicago and rented a car, then drove the 2,000-plus miles to Southern California . . .  barely. The day of the interview, Steve got a distress call from the coach. “My car is smoking,” he said. “I think it’s the radiator.” Somehow, he made it to Steve’s house, where he stayed for a few days, as he had no money for a hotel.

When he arrived at the coaches offices to interview, he looked just like someone who had only found out a day-plus before that he’d be interviewing for a Division I football coaching position, then flew and drove across an ocean and a continent to get there. Still dressed like he’d just walked off the practice field, his clothes were rumpled and wrinkled, and he’d brought nothing to change into. Steve scrambled for something to make him look presentable, but all he could find was his own sweat-stained San Diego State coaches shirt. Luckily, it fit Sean.

Though the interviewee was arriving from Great Britain, he didn’t look like he’d just walked over from Savile Row. Still, it was good enough, and he won Steve and Luginbill over with his fresh offensive ideas, his energy and his drive to succeed. He got the job, and launched a career that would include a Super Bowl XLIV victory, NFL Coach of the Year honors in 2006, and 139 NFL wins (regular season and postseason) — but not before pissing off some of the team’s offensive coaches in his first team meetings with his ideas (which Steve said were correct, by the way). By now you’ve figured out that we’re speaking of Sean Payton.

If you’re someone who aspires to be the next Sean Payton — or Drew Rosenhaus, or Chris Ballard, or Bill Belichick or whoever — you’re going to have to humble yourself, you’re going to have to ask for things (nicely) that have already been promised to others, and you’re going to have to dig into your own pockets for a Hail Mary chance at a great opportunity that could lead to something more. It’s called paying your dues, and it’s as true today as it was in 1988 (or 1888, for that matter). I think almost anyone who’s at the top of the business would agree with me.

Good luck, and keep working hard.

 

 

Reviewing the 2021 NFL Draft Class

02 Thursday Sep 2021

Posted by in Scouts

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Tuesday, NFL teams made their cuts to 53 for opening week, and Wednesday, they started populating their practice squads. Though teams will continue to tweak their rosters during the run-up to next weekend, we thought it would be interesting to take a snapshot of the rosters to get a sense of how the 2021 draft class shaped up.

The complete list of drafted and undrafted players who made rosters or practice squads in some form or fashion is here (sorry, pay link). As for analysis, here’s what we came up with.

  • We counted a total of 715 players who signed standard representation agreements with agents in the ’21 class. Of that total, 517 were either drafted or signed to UDFA deals (an unheard-of 72 percent of signees; usually, that number is closer to a third, at best). It’s important to note that there were no three-day mini-camp invitees this year; if there had been, and we would have included them in the total, the number of players who received some level of NFL engagement would have been near 90 percent. In other words, players who opted to stick around this year — especially fringe prospects — made a big mistake.
  • Eighty-one undrafted free agents made practice squads, while 42 made the 53, injured reserve, the non-football injury (NFI) or Covid lists.
  • The practice squad is usually the repository of a team’s draft picks and UDFAs that didn’t make the 53, but other teams look elsewhere to fill their slots. The Giants were the most aggressive about looking outside the team to stock its roster this year, with one player on its 53 (Ohio State OB Justin Hilliard, who signed post-draft with the Niners) and two on its practice squad (Auburn FS Jordyn Peters, who originally signed with the Jets, and Ohio State TE Jake Hausmann, late of the Lions).
  • For what it’s worth, the Falcons cast the widest net post-draft. They are the only team with more than 10 UDFAs (12, to be exact) now on the street. On the other hand, three teams saw all of their UDFAs make a roster of some sort: the Giants (who signed only three UDFAs, with one making their 53 and two making their PS), Washington (both their UDFAs made the 53) and New England (one UDFA, PK Quinn Nordin, and he made the 53).
  • Only three draftees are not on NFL rosters in some form or fashion, as of early afternoon today: Michigan FB Ben Mason (Ravens, 5/184); Georgia Tech WO Jalen Camp (Jaguars, 6/209); and Penn State OC Michal Menet (7/247, Cardinals).
  • Six cornerbacks made NFL rosters (active, IR, NFI or Covid list) after going undrafted (one is on IR). Also, six undrafted tight ends made it (two are on IR). This isn’t surprising news, given that every team is looking for an impact cornerback it can “coach up”, and tight end has become one of the sexiest positions in the league. Next most common was offensive tackle (5), which is again not surprising. If you’re an NFL agent or scout, you’re pretty much always looking for developmental players at these positions.
  • As for practice squad, oddly enough, the numbers were very different. Teams carried 14 wide receivers, far and away the most at any position, with 11 running backs next-most. Maybe this is a reaction to the success of undrafted 1,000-yard rushers like Jacksonville’s James Robinson and Houston’s Phillip Lindsay. At any rate, no other position had as many as 10 on practice squad.

If you like digging into the numbers and discussion of NFL scouts, how NFL agents work, how the NIL era is shaping up and anything else associated with what happens “backstage” in the NFL, consider signing up for our Friday Wrap, which will be out tomorrow evening. You can sign up for it here.