Author Archives: itlneil

The Going Rate

30 Friday Jan 2015

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After wrapping up a whirlwind trip through four towns and four bowls in four weeks, it’s good to be home, sleeping in my bed for a while before heading to Indy for the combine.

It’s always great to get out on the road and see ‘my peeps,’ but this year I used the time to pose a question to all my experienced agent clients, the ones that are consistently signing draftable players and have an active player list of 10-20. I felt this question would be perfect for this space as well as an interesting marker to review in the future.

The question: You’re signing a player who will be drafted, you’re certain, most likely in the seventh round. What do you offer him? What’s it gonna take?

The thought process behind this question was that most players who go into December looking like seventh-rounders wind up — after juniors declare/combine/pro day/etc. — as good, solid camp guys after the draft. So what I was really asking was, what does it cost just to get a guy into camp on the 90-man roster? What’s the financial ‘floor’ if you want to get a player signed and into camp?

The answer I got was full combine training for eight weeks plus a weekly stipend starting the day the player signs the SRA (standard representation agreement). A training package includes residence, of course, along with food (not McDonald’s — usually meals prepared specifically for the player by someone at his training facility or a third-party provider hired by the trainer) and usually a rental car. Training alone, provided the young man isn’t living at home and isn’t providing his own means and supplements, is probably $6,000-$7,000 if you use our turn-key training offer, maybe more depending on the location of the training and if it’s a big-name trainer. There are a number of variables here. All trainers offer a number of a la carte features (NFL interview training, deep tissue massage and position-specific training are all good examples) that can bump that number up considerably. Also keep in mind that training at a top-level, brand name facility is at least double this total.

The weekly stipend/per diem you’re looking at is anywhere from $200-$250 per week. The variable there is, when does it end? Some agents said the deal they work is that they pay the player through his pro day. Some go all the way to the draft. Some pay only through March.

So let’s do the math. If we take the midpoint on a comprehensive training package at a solid-but-not-big-name training facility, let’s say the total is $7,000. Then let’s say the player signs on Jan. 1, which isn’t unreasonable. We’ll take the high side on weekly stipend, just to make the math easy, and we’ll pay the player through the end of March. That means you’re looking at $10,000 for every player you sign, and again, that’s the floor.

Most mid-size agencies sign 3-5 players for the draft, hoping half of them stick or get drafted late. Let’s go high side on this. That means you’re probably spending in the neighborhood of $50,000 to get 1-3 players into camp with no guarantees.

The deadline for registering to be part of the 2015 NFLPA contract advisor class is about a week away. If you’re considering taking the CBA exam, consider these numbers this weekend.

WSW: A Woman Scorned

28 Wednesday Jan 2015

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I haven’t treated readers to a War Story Wednesday in quite a while, so I thought I’d pass along something of note that happened here in Arlington, Texas, during preparations for the College Gridiron Showcase.

Tuesday was weigh-ins, maybe the most important event of the week for the 106 players on CGS rosters. For National Football Scouting, which always conducts weigh-ins, it’s always a hassle getting the players where they’re supposed to be, then getting them lined up and into their shorts so they can be weighed, measured and paraded across the stage so team officials can check out body types.

As everyone assembled yesterday, there were three players still unaccounted for. After several phone calls and rooms checked, game organizers found two of them, but a third was still MIA. Turns out there was a good reason for that: he was being stalked by a his ‘baby mama.’

The story we heard was that this young man was behind on child support, and had been located by the mother of his child, who lives in the Dallas area or nearby. Intent on getting her money, she started blowing up his phone early-morning Tuesday, challenging him to produce the necessary funds or risk her showing up and causing a big scene in front of scouts and team officials watching players’ every move.

Apparently, the gamble worked, and he was ready to make good, but there was a problem: she wasn’t waiting around for weigh-ins to conclude. That meant that, mid-weigh in, the young man had to find an ATM machine. Fast. Only, he couldn’t find one in the hotel lobby, so he had to run across the street to a convenience store, half-dressed, where the frustrated former paramour was waiting. He quickly withdrew the money and sent her on her way, keeping scouts waiting to get his height and weight.

The story has a happy ending for all concerned. After sprinting back across the street, he stripped down to his shorts, stepped on the scale, and satisfied the needs of the assembled evaluators.

Hopefully, the coming months will be less eventful for the young man as he seeks to make his NFL dreams come true.

Reinventing the Wheel

22 Thursday Jan 2015

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In this space, I hope I encourage readers to think of creating their own success, not trying to duplicate the success of others. Here’s an illustration of a group that may be falling into the latter category.

This week, I spoke to a man who’s launching an alternative football league. He’s likeable and personable, and I respect him for what he’s trying to do, which is build a business model that is not only profitable, but that also rewards fans who want football year-round along with players who fall through the NFL cracks. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s laudable. But let’s look at the record.

About five months ago, the FXFL was in all-out media mode, doing radio, print and TV in an effort to sell the idea that a second outdoor football league could work. The league won a few fans that are well-placed in football circles, and it seemed like an idea whose time had come. I went to bat for the league with my clients, many of whom called me, asking if they should send players to the league. How viable was the idea, they asked? Would players actually get paid? I was cautiously optimistic. Whenever they called, I’d recommend the league, but also warn that the fail rate for these ventures is extraordinarily high.

Sure enough, after the early excitement of the league wore off, things began to darken. Stadiums were empty, publicity was mostly absent, and players began to complain of not getting paid. In the last couple months, I’ve fielded numerous calls from agents with players who left a job, an apartment, a girlfriend, or all three to take a chance on the FXFL, only to be rewarded with missed paychecks. I’m confident, or at least hopeful, everything will be resolved; FXFL Commish Brian Woods is a stand-up guy and we’ve forged a pretty good relationship. Still, the financial equation was never an easy one, and I wish I could say I never saw this coming.

The FXFL was not a victim of mismanagement or squandered opportunity. In the 13 years I’ve run ITL, others who’ve failed include, in no special order, the XFL, UFL, USFL2, AAFL and others who had varying measures of ‘success’ before fading into the night. Even the Arena League, which is relatively speaking a phenomenal success, took a year off to re-cut its deal with the players and reset its financial foundation. These leagues almost always go down, and go down hard. I hope the same fate doesn’t await this latest project.

So here’s my point. If you want to be an agent, or a scout, or a team owner, or whatever, I encourage you to study the profession really, really well. Know everything you can about it. Personally nterview everyone you can, read books, talk to people you trust, and learn all it’s possible to learn. And if you come to realize it’s a bridge too far, see if you can find another way to accomplish a similar goal.

That’s what I did. I’ve considered all of those professions, but came to realize none were viable, so I forged my own direction. I’m not holding myself out as some kind of unqualified success story, but I’m happy to have carved out a small niche in the business. You can do it, too. Just be flexible and don’t feel like charging through a brick wall is, necessarily, the answer.

A Football Extravaganza

21 Wednesday Jan 2015

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This week is the Senior Bowl, which makes it a big week in the life of college and pro football. Though the media is starting to catch on to the energy, the personality and the football buzz of the week in Mobile, I still think this game (and this week) is one of the hidden gems of football. Here are a few thoughts.

  • I know of at least two people here this week that are budding members of the pro football business who have come here to find their place. No doubt there are many more. One of them is my assistant, Murphy, who’s invaluable to me, but who wants to get an unvarnished look at the life of a contract advisor. I’m happy to help push him out of the nest. Though this is his third Senior Bowl, this week he’s asked several top agents what it takes to be successful in this business. To their credit, they’ve pulled no punches. To Murphy’s credit, he hasn’t flinched at the answers. He’d be crazy not to be given pause by their responses, but so far, it looks like he’s unbowed. Everyone he’s spoken to is a leader in the business, with a lengthy career and a growing practice. You just can’t find that kind of expertise anywhere else in the league except at the Senior Bowl.
  • Of course, there’s more than just agents here. All 32 teams send most of their scouts and often their coaching staffs, too. You also get a lot of college coaches who come to go to bat for players on the rosters or to see if they can land a job in the NFL. It’s a little like a coaches convention, though my sense is that it’s not nearly as popular as a ‘jobs clearinghouse’ as it used to be. I think the AFCA Convention has replaced it in that vein.
  • Though you don’t necessarily have to be a credentialed part of the Senior Bowl to get a lot of out of it, getting credentials isn’t automatic. Yesterday was one of the rare times I got a first-person account of someone almost wasn’t approved. For the most part, if you’re in the business or can make a credible argument that you are, you’ll be approved. Many times, a person’s credential identifies him as merely a ‘friend’ of a player in the game or some other NFL official. I’ve seen it.
  • Even if you’re not credentialed, you can still come and be a part of the week. Having a tag around your neck gets you on the field and gets you into the various galas in the evening, but if you just want to go to practice, you can sit in the stands without getting hassled. What’s more, the Renaissance Riverview Plaza Hotel, the game’s nerve center, is open and the people are very hospitable. At night, people converge on a handful of bars in downtown Mobile, but only a handful, and they’re easy to find. Last night, walking thru the downtown area, it was clear there were several establishments that wanted Senior Bowl business, but only 2-3 that were actually getting it.

Find a chair

15 Thursday Jan 2015

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When I was a kid, one of the games our teachers would have us play was musical chairs. I don’t know if kids still play it or not, but if you’re a good bit younger than I, it involved children marching around a group of chairs that was one fewer than the number of children participating. When the music stopped, the one left without a chair had to depart from the group. Chairs would be successively taken away as the game proceeded until there was just one child seated.

In a way, we’re in a ‘musical chairs’ situation if you’re an NFLPA-certified contract advisor in mid-January. At this point. the number of legitimate unsigned NFL prospects is dwindling. Hey, the number of unsigned players of almost any skill level is dwindling.

There are a lot of reasons why you might have reached Jan. 15 without a client. Maybe you chose to take the year ‘off’ because the NFLPA gives new agents their exam results so late in the year. Maybe you trusted schools’ compliance departments when they told you players couldn’t speak to agents until their seasons had concluded (then you were thoroughly confused when all the top players signed immediately following their bowl games). Maybe you gave recruiting a real shot, but whiffed on all your clients, or found out that they all had exorbitant training demands. Maybe the kid you coached in Pop Warner was the only reason you got certified, and he decided to go with a veteran agent despite your relationship with him.

As you may know if you follow this blog — and most certainly know if you are an ITL client — I see the agent business as one of the strongest learn-by-doing experiences anywhere. No matter who you sign or how good their chances of making an NFL camp are, I think you’re making a big mistake if you don’t at least sign one player in your ‘rookie’ year as a contract advisor.

If you have a senior agent you’re buddies with, or some other person you trust who knows the ropes, reach out to him and find out where to go to find players with possibilities. Believe it or not, there are a few still out there. And if you need ideas on strategies for finding these players, I’d love if if you’d consider us. We’d love to help.

Late, but not too late

14 Wednesday Jan 2015

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I spent last week in Charleston, S.C., for the second annual Medal of Honor Bowl, an all-star game that has grown significantly in stature in its brief existence as part of the pre-draft landscape. In my time there, I got to meet a young man named Jake Stenson, a slot back from the Citadel.

Jake had no representation going into game week, and when I met him, his initial question to me was, ‘will it hurt me not having an agent?’ I assured him it wouldn’t. I didn’t want him to rush into anything; in a week as important as last week was for his draft status, his primary focus needed to be on the field. After all, I figured he’d spend the week fielding queries from contract advisors anyway.

Yesterday, I got a call from Jake, telling me he was still without representation, so I offered to feature him in this space. I think it’s worth it to tell his story. If you’re a contract advisor still a little light on clients for the ’15 draft class, you could do worse than having a conversation with Jake, for a couple reasons.

  • He plays a position rising in importance in the league. Ten years ago, scouts dismissed the Wes Welkers, Danny Amendolas, Danny Woodheads and Julian Edelmans of the world as too small, too slow, and too lacking in skills to ever play in the league. Today, those receivers are on their second and third deals.
  • He’s pretty explosive. The Citadel is not, and has never been, a national football powerhouse, and isn’t seen as a fountain of grid innovation. Despite these limitations, Jake averaged 8.8 ypc last season on 68 carries. And though his duties were primarily in the running game, he pitched in seven catches last season.
  • He got to play in an all-star game. The value and importance of having such a platform as an all-star game is debatable for highly ranked, big-time players, but for the hundreds of players on the fringes of the draft, it’s usually a big difference-maker. Typically, 70-80 percent of players that go to all-star games at least wind up in camps. That’s a reasonable goal for Jake.
  • He’s not some tiny, elf-like guy. At 5-11/200, he’s got a little bulk and size to him. These aren’t the dimensions of your typical scatback.
  • His training is taken care of. If there’s one conversation I have with agents consistently in late December and early January, it’s about their frustration with prospects’ training demands. They’re often just not in line with their NFL chances. Not so with Jake. He’s the kind of high-upside, low-risk player that is rare today.

Interested in taking a flyer on Jake? Let me know at nstratton@insidetheleague.com. If you’re an ITL client, I’ll be happy to pass along his information.

Some More Deserving Candidates

08 Thursday Jan 2015

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It’s been kind of fun to use this space to help connect deserving players with agents in the last couple weeks.

So far, we’ve helped Texas State OC Charlie Will Tuttle, New Mexico OC Lamar Bratton, Winston-Salem St. DE Alfy Hill (an Alabama transfer), Idaho OC Mike Marboe and North Texas IB Derek Akunne find representation, and two more players, Rice OG Nico Carlson and FS Julius White III, are in the final decision stages. Along the way this season, we’ve also worked with the parents of Virginia Tech OG Caleb Farris, Kansas St. DE Ryan Mueller and Georgia Tech WO Darren Waller as they’ve worked through the vetting process with their sons.

We’re also working with the parents of a quarterback who’s weighing the pros and cons of entering the 2015 NFL draft. There’s nothing more rewarding then helping people make informed decisions.

If you’re an agent looking for a couple more players to add to your client list for the ’15 draft, the following Rice Owls would be solid additions. We think they’ve got at least an even-money chance of being in an NFL camp this spring, and as yet, they’re unsigned:

Mario Hull, WO, Rice: I don’t normally recommend wide receivers and defensive backs to agents because they’re a dime a dozen, but Hull is intriguing. As a redshirt freshman, he was 21st in the nation in punt return average (10.2). That’s really good, and it earned him Freshman All-American honors from The Sporting News. Injuries wiped out most of his sophomore and junior years, but he came on strong this year, averaging more than 20 yards per catch and scoring eight touchdowns. Explosiveness is what NFL teams seek in receivers, and Hull’s got it.

James Radcliffe, OB, Rice: Jim has been very productive at Rice, a three-year starter who earned CUSA Honorable Mention honors this year. He’s willing to train at school, too, but one of his most important traits is that he’s at least 6-0 (he lists at 6-1). In the modern NFL, linebackers less than 6-0 just don’t get looked at. He’s got a real shot as a special teams ace that can perhaps move into the rotation, and one of his best aspects is that he can drop in coverage and move with receivers. He’s not just a between-the-tackles banger.

Ian Gray, OT, Rice: You can’t teach size, and Ian’s got it at 6-8, 345. Here’s what’s interesting. Usually, you find a tackle that big, and you stick him on the right side, but not Ian. The Owls used him on the blind side, which really speaks to his nimbleness and ability to mirror pass rushers. He’s also got serious bloodlines, as his father (Notre Dame) and uncle (Penn State) both played big-time college football. When it comes to guys this size, and the scarcity of offensive linemen on the next level, they almost have to prove they can’t play football. I could easily see Gray coming into camp as a project and maybe riding on a team’s practice squad as a developmental player.

Interested in any of these young men? If you’re an ITL client, just let me know and I’ll pass along their contact info. It’s always a pleasure to put good people together.

Five MOH players worth considering

06 Tuesday Jan 2015

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Today, we report from Charleston, SC, scene of the second annual Medal of Honor Bowl. It’s the first game in the all-star slate for the 2015 draft cycle.

After attending weigh-ins, we discovered 37 unsigned players. That’s not altogether unusual for an early all-star game (some of these players were in bowl play as recently as Friday and Saturday), but it’s still a high number. Some of these players rate a long look for agents who swung and missed during recruiting. Last year, about 80 percent of the players who attended the game made it at least as far as an NFL camp.

Here are five players that we think deserve a look. As of this morning, none of them had agents.

Quinn Backus, SS, Coastal Carolina: Safeties that can move and cover as well as stop the run are an enticing commodity for NFL evaluators as ‘move’ tight ends have become such a weapon. Backus comes from a program that has gigantic momentum and is really on the rise, and he’s a two-time Walter Camp All-American, so the production is there. In fact, Backus is one of just four two-time Walter Camp honorees this year, and one is in the Senior Bowl and another in the Shrine Game. Backus played outside linebacker at Coastal, so if he proves he can play defensive back, he could be a true sleeper.

David Frazier, WO, Miami (OH): Normally, wide receivers are a dime a dozen, and it’s dicey to represent them because often it all comes down to their 40 time. However, there’s reason to believe Frazier is worth a gamble. First of all, he’s right at 6-feet tall (I don’t have his exact measurements today), so he’s no small-fry, and he averaged 16.1 yards per catch this year, so chances are he’s explosive and will run well.

Alfy Hill, DE, Winston-Salem St.: I haven’t gotten a chance to watch Alfy on the field, but he looks great coming off the bus. What’s more, he signed with Alabama coming out of high school, and if you’re good enough to play on scholarship for Nick Saban, well, that’s saying something. He seems to be very well-spoken and polished, too, based on the limited time I’ve been around him. His listed measurables are legit, too. He’s not a ‘6-4 in the program, 6-1 1/2 in real life’ kind of guy.

Gabe Middlebrook, OB, Charleston Southern: Middlebrook made a lot of plays for Charleston Southern this year and moves really well. He’s also a guy that a team is gonna fall in love with this week because he’s not only athletic but is instantly likeable. One of the big advantages to participation in all-star games is that players make personal connections with scouts, and that really pays off in the war room on draft day.

Mike Sellers, H-back, Winston-Salem St.: When you play H-back, very often you get stuck with the ‘tweener’ label. However, the American roster is down a tight end, and I’ve heard discussion of giving Mike some opportunities as a traditional tight end. If that happens and he flashes, he could really make an impression in a hurry.

Interested in any of these players? If you’re an ITL client, let us know and we’ll put you together with them to see if there’s a fit. And if you’re not part of the ITL family yet, we’d love to welcome you aboard. Even if these five players don’t seem like a natural fit, you can check out the rosters (National here, American here) to see if others might.

For your consideration

30 Tuesday Dec 2014

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We’ve used this space in the last couple weeks to feature some selected players that aren’t getting the attention from agents that perhaps they deserve. Due to the response from these posts, we’ve gotten more players asking to be featured, so here are a few more.

I should mention that we don’t feature everyone that contacts us. These are players, we feel, that at least have a chance of making it to a camp next summer.

There are no guarantees, but I think they have possibilities. I should also note that I’m not ‘brokering’ these players. I’m just passing them along to agents who might have interest. If you’re an ITL client and you have genuine interest in these players, I’m happy to provide their contact info, no strings attached.

Derek Akunne, ILB, North Texas: I’m a little confused on why Derek hasn’t gotten more interest from agents so far. He led Conference USA in tackles this season (108) and led the Eagles in tackles for loss (8.5). That’s good production. He lists at 6-0, so he’s not as tall as teams would like their linebackers to be these days – if he lists at 6-0, he’s probably closer to 5-11 at best – but you can’t argue with what he’s done on the field. And no, he didn’t exactly play at a football factory, but as a member of an FBS team, you know he’s going to have a pro day that gets covered by scouts. That’s not always a given when it comes to players that went to D2, D3 or even Division I-AA (FCS) schools.

Blake Renaud, ILB, Boise St.: Unlike Akunne, Renaud has plenty of size (6-2, 255). He also has a nice pedigree, having played HS ball at powerhouse De La Salle in Concord, Calif., before moving on to BSU. Inside linebackers are seen as unsexy by the NFL, and tend to go late in the draft, if at all. Still, every team uses them, and Renaud’s got a solid shot at making it to an NFL camp if he can stay healthy. The key is that he’s a kamikaze on special teams, and that’s the kind of thing that makes a player valuable.

Zack Patt, DE, Rice: Here’s another player off an FBS bowl-winning team that is squarely under the radar, but maybe shouldn’t be. He has a couple knocks. One, he’s quite undersized for his position, and he’s going to have to consider playing outside linebacker on the next level. There will be valid questions on whether or not he can move in space and drop and cover. He’s also had problems getting into the lineup; he didn’t start until his senior season, and he missed several games with injury. However, when he was on the field, he was a true impact player, notching an eye-popping five sacks in one game (against Florida International) this season.

Nico Carlson, OG, Rice: A 37-game starter at Rice, Nico is the kind of guy who scouts love because his best football is ahead of him. He arrived at Rice as a defensive lineman, but switched to OL his sophomore year and became an immediate starter. This gives him the ‘attitude’ and nastiness of a defensive player with an offensive lineman’s focus, smarts and fire. A second-team All-CUSA pick, he’s a legit 6-3/290 and is willing to live at home and train, so despite all his pluses, he won’t cost too much to represent. And he’s smart and personable.

Meet the Prospect: Rice FS Julius White III

26 Friday Dec 2014

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Last week, we used this space to introduce New Mexico OL Lamar Bratton, a young man who, despite plenty of on-field success, had received little to no attention from agents, mainly because he played at a remote school that had experienced limited success. A week later, he still hasn’t signed with an agent . . . but that’s because, as of Wednesday, he had spoken to three and had a couple more who wanted to meet. He had gone from a lack of agents to a glut, which is really gratifying, because all I did was to give him a small amount of recognition. So today, we’ll try the same approach with Rice FS Julius White III.

First, the negatives.

  • Julius plays a position where a major part of his draft status will depend solely on the 40 time he records at his pro day in March.
  • Julius doesn’t have freakish size (he lists at 5-11) or speed (he wasn’t a member of Rice’s track team), so he doesn’t have the kind of tools that make scouts drool.
  • He doesn’t come from a football factory and plays a position where it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. Safeties are more of a commodity than a rarity.
  • So far, Julius isn’t headed to any all-star games, which is a drawback because it hurts his ability to showcase himself for scouts.

Now for the positives.

  • Julius is a producer. He’s a three-year starter at an FBS school who’s Rice’s active career leader in tackles (with 175). He was a preseason second-team All-CUSA pick by Phil Steele. He was Honorable Mention All-CUSA this year. He’s a legitimate prospect.
  • He’s coming off a big game. In Rice’s 30-6 demolition of Fresno State in the Hawaii Bowl, Julius tied for the team lead with eight tackles and two tackles for loss against the Bulldogs. As our own Ken Moll has detailed in this space, big performances in big games matter when it comes to evaluating players. For what it’s worth, he comes up big in big games, as he had an interception in the CUSA Championship game last year against Marshall.
  • He was a high school quarterback, so athleticism isn’t a problem. Scouts always love ex-quarterbacks.
  • Though he doesn’t have an all-star invite yet, he should have an opportunity to get into a game. It will take an aggressive approach by his agent, but there’s still time to lobby one of the five games to take him.
  • As a member of an FBS team, he’ll have a pro day. This isn’t always a given when it comes to draft-eligible players, believe it or not. But you don’t have to worry about that with Julius.
  • He’s a good kid from a good family and has a future. It goes without saying that a Rice student cares about education, but Julius was Academic All-State during his high school days. His father, an ITL client, is an engineer. It will be a pleasure to work with Julius and his entire family. That’s not always something you can take for granted.
  • He’s received interest from major agents. One such agent, who represented a third-rounder in the ’14 draft, has pulled off due to a lack of resources, but the bottom line is that Julius is no secret to people in the game.

Interested in working with him? If you’re an ITL client, contact me and let’s get y’all together. Interested, but not an ITL client? Let’s get started.