Houston is a pretty good football town, so it’s no big surprise that many of its residents pursue a career in player representation. For years, I’ve kicked around the idea of getting some veteran agents together with people taking the exam, just the veterans can share ideas and the aspiring agents can ask questions about the exam or just the business, generally. We finally did that last night. Here are a few thoughts after a fun time with four agents and three agents-to-be.

  • I guess it’s no surprise, but there were probably as many questions about succeeding in the business as there were about simply passing the exam. That’s natural. I did my best to help the exam-takers keep their respective eyes on the ball, but it’s an interesting profession. Why wouldn’t they be curious?
  • We brought several generations of veteran agents together, including Chiquia Roberson (certified in 2013), Everett Coleman (2021), Chris Gaddis (2019) and Teron Greene (2025). It was fascinating to hear how their test-taking experiences differed; so much has changed in the last 10-plus years.
  • Chiquia’s experience was a bit more old-school, as she was part of a class that had to travel to Washington, D.C., and sit in a big room over two days with hundreds of other people. The procedure then was a full day of lecture on Thursday, then a morning lecture and Q&A Friday morning before the exam on Friday. It’s probably better that it’s not done that way anymore. I used to hear stories of NFLPA officials rushing students through questions on Friday morning and asking to get the test going mid-lunch hour. I guess they were a little bored and hoping to get ahead of the evening’s traffic.
  • The same was true of Chris, another guy who had to go to D.C. Most of his focus was on the trickier topics and the value of time management. This is a common theme. It’s so, so easy to get wrapped up in a few questions and get behind. Three hours go quickly.
  • Everett’s was interesting because he was originally scheduled for 2020 before the Players Association pulled the plug due to the lockdowns. He made it work for him. He continually cited his 18-month run-up to the 2021 exam as a benefit, and his recall of the questions and topics of focus were surprising. It was also interesting because that year, everyone took the exam from their own homes, and as it was the first time the NFLPA did it this way, there were numerous technological issues. Everett said he spent several minutes having his study notes and test materials examined by the proctoring service over the webcam, just to make sure he was meeting regulations.
  • For Teron, who just got certified last summer, the memories focused on taking the exam at a testing center, surrounded by cameras. I could tell the surveillance there really made things awkward for him. I guess it’s the only way the NFLPA can make absolutely certain no one is cheating.

A lot of the themes were in tune with what I always hear. They raved about the study guide; most people do. They were very complimentary of Ian Greengross, our Zoom instructor, and his teaching methods. Everett was excited about a CFL client who’s near reporting for camp up north; he signed the player on a referral from the ITL community.

Anyway, it was a lot of fun, and something I wish we’d done earlier. It’s certainly not the last time the ITL team will gather before the exam, though future groupings will probably be online, in some form or fashion.

If you’re taking the exam, there’s plenty of room on the roster, and we’d love to have you. Just 80 days to go! Come with us. Start by contacting me at nstratton at insidetheleague dot com.