We’re currently 11 days away from the 2023 NFL Agent Exam. If you’re taking the test, that should give you pause (and perhaps scare you to death). But it doesn’t have to be that way. Though the exam is not at all easy, you can pass it if you approach it the right way.

This week, I reached out to several of the contract advisors we worked with during the 2022 exam prep phase. Not only did all of them pass the exam last summer, but they also were among the rare rookie agents who landed players on NFL rosters in their first year in the business (one even had a player drafted).

Here’s what they told me about how they pulled off passing the test.

  • Organize your notes: This was probably the most popular advice of all. It’s not just making sure you have a copy of the CBA printed out and neatly tucked into a binder. It’s much more than that. “I had three binders plus my outline on test day,” said David Gregory, the only independent first-year agent to have a player drafted this spring. “(I had) a binder for CBA with all charts that I knew I would use frequently placed up front; a binder for the drug and performance-enhancing substance policies, and a binder for all side documents and other policies.” Said EJ Gonzalez of Grady Sports: “I set up my notes on my desk the day before (the exam) in a way that I knew where everything was, then reviewed where everything was the morning of and again before I took it.” “I had page numbers of where to find certain topics next to each section within my notes,” said Samantha Blitzer of Goal Line Football. “That way, if I had to refer to the CBA, I wasn’t scrambling to find it.”
  • Pay attention at the NFLPA seminar: You can glean a lot of what will actually be tested from the three days of classes provided pre-exam. “They aren’t speaking for their health,” Gonzalez said. “They are telling you what’s on it. I took 10-12 pages (front and back) of notes during the seminar and I remember a couple answers just being based off seminar notes.” At the same time, it’s important to keep your sense of humor. “The (questions asked in the online) chat functions . . . were hilarious,” said Juan Lozano of Red Envelope Sports. “They gave me a lot of confidence because I knew some people were asking ridiculous questions and they would have no chance passing that test if they were asking those questions a day before the exam.”
  • Give yourself plenty of time: Obviously, there’s no way to turn back the clock, but hopefully you didn’t begin preparations this week. “I started studying in January, so I gave myself plenty of time to get to know the material,” said Alex Broers of Vantage Management Group.
  • Pace yourself/don’t rush: Making sure you don’t spend too much time early in the exam, forcing you to rush late, was a recurring theme. “You only have three minutes per question, so you don’t have a lot of time,” Broers said. Added Gregory,  “I made sure I was done with 20 questions by the end of Hour 1 and 40 questions by the end of Hour 2, etc. If you’re not sure, just answer the question and come back to it at the end. if you have time.”
  • Read the questions carefully: “They will throw fluff in there that has nothing to do with the answer,” Blitzer said. “On the test, they definitely try to trick you with how they word questions rather than which topic the question is referring to. There will be one or two words that will completely change the scenario, so keep an eye out for that.”

If you found these tips helpful, we’ve got more. In this evening’s Friday Wrap, we’ll have five more, straight from the people who were successful in passing the exam last summer. You don’t want to miss them, and you won’t as long as you register for the Wrap, which you can do here.