This time of year, with the NFL Draft in the news and the NFL Combine just around the corner, there’s a lot of interest in being an agent. I get a lot of questions from people interested in pursuing player representation, and I hate to dismiss them or diminish them by telling them I don’t have time for them. Still, this time of year, every second counts, so I thought I’d write a post aimed at people who are considering this profession. That way, I have a link I can share that encompasses my thoughts.

Here’s a rundown of what you need, literally and figuratively, if being an NFL agent is your goal.

Have $10,000 liquid. Take it from me. You will need this for training and travel expenses. This is actually a very conservative estimate, though, for the purposes of this post, I’m not going into the nuts and bolts of what you need. Just know that $10,000 is the bare minimum you need AFTER you’re certified if you want to try this.

Get a secondary degree. Some people have negotiated all their lives, and they try to prove they are fit for certification with solely an undergrad degree. Very rarely are these negotiation waivers granted. Even if it’s an online Master’s, go the extra mile and get that done before you really dive in.

Don’t expect big results in Year 1. This is probably true of the first year of any venture, but it’s definitely true in player representation. You must sign at least one player, and you need to really wade in and do whatever you can to get him (or them, if you sign several clients) to the league. There is no substituted for making Year 1 really count. You want to get those rookie mistakes out of the way early.

Take the exam seriously. It’s really challenging, yet every year, half of all test-takers fail the exam. Often it’s because they thought it would be an easy pass. It’s not.

Accept that you don’t know everything (and accept that that’s OK). I can’t tell you how often people enter this business with an attitude and an ego the size of the Superdome.  Sometimes they succeed, but more often than not they become the victims of their own arrogance. You can’t do this job alone. 

Read every post in this blog. I’ve been writing this series since 2014, and there’s a lot of good stuff in it. If you sift through the hundreds of posts, you’re going to learn a lot about being an agent. You especially need to read this post, but there are many others, as well. 

One other thing — consider joining us at Inside the League. Helping people succeed in this business is what we do. If you’re not quite ready to join ITL, no problem, but at least sign up for our free weekly newsletter that comes out on Fridays. You can do that here.