Yes, the agent business is very hard. Yes, we are pretty brutal in our honesty about the way this business runs, and the long odds faced by those who pursue NFLPA certification. I often wonder if I’m a little too direct, and it’s always tough balancing the bad news with the good.

Well, today is a day to balance out the bad. Typically, the players association doesn’t release the results of the exam until mid to late September. However, this year, the news came out Sept. 1. The celebratory tweets started rolling out Thursday afternoon, and soon after, the texts and emails started coming in from the 70-odd people who used our practice exam and/or study guide to prepare.

Obviously, it’s incredibly exciting to help someone achieve a lifetime goal. For me, it’s similar to the high a new agent gets when his first client signs a contract with an NFL team or gets the call that he was drafted. Here’s a sampling.

• “Thanks a bunch!  Your stuff definitely helped!  Now will probably need to get the list you offer. If you need to use someone or two for promotion, let us know.”

• “I appreciate all of your help. Wouldn’t have passed without the exam and study guide. I’ll be sure to recommend them to anyone in future. Don’t know what I would have done without you.”

• “Hey Neil, I passed. Thank you for your help! The practice test paid off a lot!”

• “Thanks for the help. That test helped big time. Helped understand how the structure of the test was going to be. Can’t thank you enough!

• “Thanks man. Totally excited beyond words. Now it just comes down to grinding, making connections, and moving with God’s will.”

• “I just want to let you know that….I passed the exam! Appreciate all your assistance along the way.”

• “Passed the test… I have a few weeks to make decision on certification which is nice. Test wasn’t difficult at all, felt very confident afterwards and thought I only got 1 question wrong. Seems like the NFLPA did a much better job with the seminar this year than last. A lot of the really difficult test questions were mentioned in the seminar word for word, so if somebody didn’t get them right they just weren’t paying attention. Thanks for the help and the practice test which was very helpful. Appreciate you being a valuable resource for upcoming and current agents who have been getting very little to no support, especially in this SRA dilemma.”

Naturally, the news wasn’t all good. Though it’s early, it looks like results will be a bit better than last year, though not significantly. Based on the first 21 people I’ve spoken to, our success rate is just over 70 percent, right about where we are every year.

For those who came up short, the pain is unbearable, and I share their disappointment. But for today, let’s focus on those who’ll be sinking their teeth into the football business this year.

There’s been a good bit of hand-wringing in this space over the NFLPA’s new policy setting 1.5 percent as the default agent fee (though savvy contract advisors may still seek a maximum of 3 percent from their clients). Here and here and here are some examples of agents’ concerns, and here and here and here are thoughts from combine trainers, who’ll probably have to make a few concessions, as well.

However, after a few conversations with members of big firms, there may be good news for small and mid-sized firms that may see the new SRA as a doomsday scenario.

In the past, big firms spent the spring and summer recruiting players (juniors and seniors) projected as Top-100 picks in the coming draft. As the season unfolded, they’d either lose interest in some of their recruits, or be rejected, or some other scenario that might lead them to look for other prospects. At this point, they’d reach out to scouting contacts, who would in turn update them on the players who’d improved their status. The big firms would then barge in and soak up these players, usually pushing out the smallish firms who’d spent spring and summer forging relationships with them. It was really, really bad news for the upstart agencies. The bullies on the block always won.

This year, however, I’ve been told by two agents I highly respect (and who come from Top 10 agencies) that their agencies will cut back this year by reducing the number of players they sign. In the old days, they could pay for training on their long shots with the premiums paid by big players, but now that fewer will pay 3 percent (though both told me their agencies will still fight for 3 percent), there’s less margin.

This still means the guys out there hustling to make names for themselves will have to spend the summer and fall building relationships. However, just maybe, those relationships won’t go for naught as often in the age of the de facto 1.5 percent agent fee. At least, I hope so. There are a lot of good agents out there working hard and who deserve to be rewarded for their efforts.

I wanted to wrap a week of discussions on the NFLPA’s move to make 1.5 percent agent fees the default option with a couple thoughts based on discussions I’ve had with agents and trainers, this week and in the past.

• One of the biggest ways new and/or young agents can do to improve their chances of success is by partnering with bigger agents (I call it having a ‘big brother’). The way it usually works is that the smaller agent develops an excellent relationship with a top prospect, but knowing he can’t ‘close’ the player, pairs up with a major agent/agency late in the process (we regularly help pair up these parties, by the way). In the past, this was easy. Once the training fees and costs of recruiting were covered, the big and small agents split the 3 percent. Now they’re splitting 1.5 percent unless they can talk the player ‘up’ to 3 percent. There’s so little money to be made now that this partnership probably doesn’t work anymore.
• As trainers have come into the game and become a bigger part of the draft process, they’re often derided as making hundreds of thousands of dollars with no risk. Though ultimately they get paid whether the player is drafted or not, I can assure you they carry plenty of risk. Trainers almost always provide training up front, then often get paid once it’s complete. The temptation now, for less scrupulous agents, could be to stiff trainers completely.
• As a person who’s pretty comfortable with the ideas of capitalism, I think that, generally, the best producers are compensated the best, and to get the best people, you must be willing to provide a good wage. When you cut a fee that was already lowest among the three major sports in half, you’re going to hurt the service to your constituents. That goes not only for the lesser players, but ultimately for the players that really matter in the league. I feel the NFLPA is discouraging talented, smart young people from succeeding in the business as well as considering entering it. The number of people wiling to get certified by the NFLPA has always been almost insatiable, but that could end if steps like this continue to be taken.

For what it’s worth, this move has not been made officially. Not yet, anyway. But it definitely seems to be coming. We’ll see if the outrage generated by contract advisors so far is heeded by the NFLPA. Let’s hope the players association is listening.

As you may have read yesterday, the NFLPA-certified contract advisors we spoke to are not excited that standard representation agreements (SRAs) will now default to 1.5 percent, requiring agents to persuade their clients to pay 3 percent.

ITL’s Mark Skol got plenty more opinions from a wide range of agents, big and small, so we thought we’d pass along a few more.

• “Obviously, we now have to have more conversation with players. The bigger issue is that the culture, from both veteran players and the union, is against agents. So, beyond the initial fees, young players are coming into the league and getting poisoned by just a few people about the agent industry overall. It will drive out small agents as well as seasoned agents who are going to quickly tire of the attitude against them. Most people in life appreciate when someone works hard for them. Unfortunately, more and more players are displaying a total lack of appreciation, not only for the hard work, but for the expertise of seasoned agents. It takes many years to build up the relationships needed to affect a player’s career, and more than ever, this has been totally devalued. Additionally, baseball agents have their fees capped at 5 percent and basketball agents have their fees capped at 4 percent. There is no way a good football agent is worth less than a third of a baseball agent and less than half of a basketball agent. We are working through (how we’ll deal with the new SRA) at our firm and not 100 percent sure how we will handle it at this time. Most likely, we will have to sign more players, thus providing less time for the current ones. We would rather not do that, but are being forced to by ignorance and ungrateful people. As a side note, sadly, the vast majority of players are thankful and see the value, but are being drowned out by a few loud ones.”

• “The real issue isn’t the new SRA. We all know the lowering of agencies is coming with the NFLPA trying to get rid of all agents in general. That’s the main issue. The SRA, and I hate to be frank, but most football players and parents are (greedy). It’s the most money to pay the least money. The NFLPA says we have to convince the player why we need 3 percent, which really shouldn’t be that difficult for agents who do more than just negotiate contracts. The effect it will have is it will allow the larger agencies who only charge 1 and 2 percent anyway to convince players to not even consider small agents who need the three percent to function. Another issue would be it will take other agents out because they can’t afford to pay for training if a player is on the 1.5 percent. That makes it so certain agents can only sign certain players. That’s the way the NFLPA wants it, anyway. The NFLPA has been trying to run agents out of the business for the last couple of years and I think that is there goal. They want to do it but the players aren’t smart enough to realize it will hurt them. I will continue to do what I do anyway. I don’t buy players, so I will continue to lay out everything that I do for players, and that is worth 3 percent. Most other agents make you sign with them, sign with a business manager, sign with a travel guy, sign with a marketer, and you’ll end up paying 6-8 percent total because they want to charge more than 2 percent, but they’ll make their money back on the back end anyway. My approach is simple: you sign with me or you don’t.”

• “It’s a hard question because at this point you don’t know what the SRA looks like. . . . If you read the quote from (NFLPA President) Eric Winston yesterday he said the SRA is being reviewed by labor lawyers, so to say whether or not its been approved and when it’s coming out, I don’t think it would be fair for me to answer the question because I haven’t read anything on the SRA. (News reports have) said the default is 1.5 percent, and if I’m correct on the old SRA, it was 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3 percent. I think it’s the same thing, only thing is you have to state your case as to why you are charging 3 percent. They are not saying you have to charge a specific rate; you just have to state your case. You aren’t seeing too many people talk about this because it’s not set in stone that you have to charge 1.5 percent. It’s just explaining your position as to why you are charging three percent. I (will) have an addendum listing of everything that I do as an agent. I talked to my partner who is a lawyer and we both feel the same way. If you list the things you do as an agent, no player should have a question on what you do for them.”

About 99.9 percent of the football fans gearing up for the ’16 season couldn’t have cared less about the news that broke Monday about the NFLPA effectively dropping agent fees from a max of 3 percent — lower than any of the major sports — to 1.5 percent. OK, they’re not technically cutting it — players can now voluntarily pay 3 percent if they’re incredibly generous — but the players association has set the standard representation agreement to default to 1.5 percent unless otherwise noted.

Of course, if you read this blog, you are not the 99.9 percent. You’re the .1 percent that is focused on the business of football and interested in what shapes the game. I can tell you, based on the phone calls and texts I’ve gotten over the last 24 hours, that the NFLPA’s decision will shape the way agents work and how players are represented.

We spoke to several contract advisors this morning to get their respective takes on this. I won’t give attribution because I don’t want them to be targeted by the NFLPA for retribution, but I will run their responses to our questions in total.

Our questions: How will the new SRA, which allows agents to charge 3 percent but defaults to 1.5 percent, affect the business? Do you see it driving agents out of business? How will you deal with the new SRA/rate?

• “It’s going to drive a lot of small agencies out of the business. The margins in this industry are already small and the risk is already high. This increases both. Volume agencies will be able to cut their fees a la CAA last year, and sign more players that feel they’re getting a better deal. What the players will realize down the road is they also received inferior service in exchange for that reduced fee. If the union is there to help the players, they’re not doing their job in this instance.  I may be one of the very few, but all of my clients pay 3 percent, and I’ll stick with that. You get what you pay for and I think the good agents in this industry are worth more than 3 percent. There’s no reason we should settle for any less.”
• “I think it will eventually influence smaller sized firms to stay away from risky Day 3, late-round or UDFA prospects because the risk vs. return on investment may not be business smart. All players want training included, so if you are unable to convince that prospect why your services are worth the 3 percent, then I think an agent may not take that risk on him. The big firms can absorb those losses more than a small firm, but at the end of the day they are all about their bottom line as well, so late-round guys, guys who need agents the most, might suffer from this change. It’s possible (this will drive some agencies out of the business). Small- and mid-sized firms who are not getting Top-100 guys may run out of money before it comes back, based on a 1.5 (percent) agreement. Some agents may sign less prospects by sticking to 3 percent and decide it’s not worth it anymore. I will explain to the prospect that the NFLPA felt it was necessary to make the default 1.5 percent and that the fee has always been negotiable, but the actual maximum is 3 percent, and just have that discussion with the player.”
• “I think that it affects the business by creating a perception among both players and parents that the ‘standard’ fee is 1.5 percent. Obviously, that shouldn’t be the case, as it never has been before; however, when you label it as the default percentage, how can you blame a player or his parents when they tell you that you won’t even enter the equation for their son’s signature unless you charge 1.5 percent? It’s a tough way to do business. I think it could have an affect on agents trying to make their way into the business. Obviously, I’m curious to see how this first year or so goes with the new SRA because it’ll be a good litmus test going forward. However, you have to think that it could be a strong deterrent for a young guy trying to make it as an agent who now comes into the business knowing that the fee has been sliced in half. (As far as how I’ll deal with it), that’s a great question. I’m assuming it’ll be a case-by-case basis. I want to get a feel for the player, and if he has his parents involved or an aunt or uncle or somebody, I want to get a true gauge for them before I decide how I want to approach the rate.”

This time of year, I’m starting to hear from agents who were certified in 2013 and, despite having been in the business for three years, have never gotten a client on an active NFL roster. The NFLPA gives you three years to get a player on a team, even during the offseason when rosters are at 90-man limits, and if you don’t do it, it’s sayonara. You have to recertify — take the test again, pay your initiation fees again, the whole works. It’s a bad scene. It occurred to me that I’ve never addressed this on our blog, so I thought today would be a good time to do that, since we’re about two months away from the deadline.

August of your third year in the business is a bad time to satisfy the roster requirement. First of all, teams are looking to cut players right now, not add them. Though all teams maintain short lists, if your client hasn’t already made that list, he probably won’t be added late.
You have to be on a player’s standard representation agreement (SRA) prior to his addition to the roster. This means you have to play a guessing game, first identifying players that you think will be late adds, then approaching their agents and trying to sweet-talk them into letting you on the SRA (naturally, this requires begging, agreeing that you won’t steal the client, that you won’t accept any fees, etc.). Not an easy proposition.
Very often, an agent is scrambling in Year 3 because he blew off Year 1. This is easy to do. After all, being an agent is essentially commission sales, and that’s not an easy job. What’s more, you don’t get the go-ahead to start recruiting until after you’ve been certified, and you don’t even find out your test results until well into September. That’s after schools have had their agent days, and often players won’t talk to agents during the season. That means you’re left scrambling for leftovers in December/January, and at this point, it’s a pretty shallow talent pool.
For all these reasons, if you’re considering certification, or you’re waiting to get your test results back, make sure you don’t pass up Year 1. You just don’t want to be stuck making rookie mistakes in Year 2, and the later you start, the quicker the deadline arrives. We can help when you’re in dire straits — we do it all the time — but it’s not where we, or you, want to be.