Category Archives: Agents

Part 2 with Agent (And More) Austin Atkinson

05 Friday Feb 2016

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Today is Part 2 of our guest entry from Austin Atkinson, an NFLPA contract advisor who’s served in personnel roles with the Charleston, S.C.-based Medal of Honor Bowl (’14-’15) and the Tropic Bowl (’16). I feel he’s got a unique perspective in how to build a strong presence in the game. Today, he talks about some of the unexpected drama he faced working with scouts and agents to build an all-star roster.

“Literally within the first 60 days of me taking the job in Charleston, I was contacted by two individuals who were affiliated with two of the more established all-star games. The first emailed to say that he had heard that the other was calling a bunch of agents and saying that I was planning on using my status as a personnel director to recruit players to my own agency. Days later, the second person emailed to say that he had heard that the first guy was actually calling around and saying that I was unscrupulous and that agents shouldn’t send their players to our game. At that point, I had no choice but to block out the outside noise and handle things my own way. It was obvious that neither one of those guys was going to play any sort of role in helping me establish myself as a personnel director anyway.

“Because of those two individuals, I actually drafted a letter and sent a copy to every single agent in the country via email (thanks, NFLPA directory!) and explained that they should have no concerns over my involvement with the game, and that any concerns could be addressed to me personally. Other than having to tactfully correct a few doubters on Twitter a few times, I never heard another concern from the agent community. I am happy to report that we actually had 38 players report to our game in Charleston that year that were unsigned or otherwise uncommitted to any particular agency. That kind of number is unheard of for a major all-star game, and is one of which I am particularly proud. I had hoped to make it clear to the scouting and agent community that I was going to give my best effort to find talent on my own, and not just ‘play favorites’ with any agencies.

“Now, that is not to say that I don’t value the input from my fellow agents. As many will attest, I’ve spent hours and hours on the phone with them during the last couple of years. Although I spend a lot of time traveling to games and attending practices before and during the college football season, the agents that I speak with that are scattered across the country serve as my eyes and ears on the ground. I am extremely grateful for their insight and I always try to give them an honest opinion or otherwise not ‘leave them hanging’ when they inquire about my interest in a certain player. I understand that this is a pressure-filled business, and I have personally been cussed out and threatened by a few agents during the last couple of draft cycles. But the vast majority are personable and respectful, and I enjoy hearing from them throughout the year.

“To wrap things up, I thought I would share something that happened last week in Mobile that kind of brings my experience full circle. There I was at Veet’s (a bar that’s a Senior Bowl ‘must’) and I was speaking to a CFL coach and a veteran NFL scout. The CFL coach was going on about how much he liked a certain ACC player, and said he hoped to sign him if he didn’t get picked up by an NFL team. I knew, and the NFL scout obviously knew, the particular medical history of this player and how that accounted for why he hadn’t received a single all-star game invite. The scout must have sensed that I had some information to share, so he gave me an ‘after you’ wave of the hand. I then proceeded to spout off to the coach this player’s entire medical history, and told him that despite being an all-conference, record-breaking player while in college, the player had virtually zero shot at passing an NFL physical. The coach was initially shocked by this revelation, and then repeatedly thanked me for sharing that key piece of information. It was definitely one of those moments where I realized that I had come a long way from being ‘just an agent’ just a few years ago.

“I hope to see many of you at the NFL Combine later this month in Indianapolis. Please introduce yourself if we haven’t met already. I’m already working on another all star game for the 2017 Draft cycle, and I hope to share that information with everyone soon. Good luck to all of the players and agents in this year’s Draft!”

Finding Your Own Personnel Path (Pt. 1)

04 Thursday Feb 2016

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I met Austin Atkinson more than three years ago sometime after he passed the NFLPA agent certification exam in 2012. An attorney in South Carolina, Austin was enthusiastic, smart and details-driven, like dozens of new contract advisors. He’d also made alliances with several people in the football business before he’d gotten certified, which is always wise.

It was through these alliances that Austin found himself helping out with the Medal of Honor Bowl, a college all-star game that ran for two seasons (2014-2015) and saw 20-plus players get drafted and hundreds go to NFL camps. The game is also the place where Patriots Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler first caught the eye of scouts. Though it didn’t get the headlines of the bigger and more traditional games like the Senior Bowl and the Shrine Game, the game became known, in short order, for its abundance of sleepers and the hospitality organizers showed to NFL personnel.

This year, the MOH Bowl moved to a more traditional bowl format, leaving Austin without a personnel role. However, he was able to assume the same role with another game, the Tropic Bowl, which launched in January. Once again, the game quickly gained traction with scouts, and Austin earned praise for the roster he (largely) assembled for game owner/founder Michael Quartey.

Whenever you handle such a role, you get interesting insights on the business and get to see a side few see. It’s almost like real-life fantasy football on the college level. There’s nothing more rewarding than providing a draft hopeful with a platform for achieving his dream. With this in mind, I asked Austin to take the reins of SIF for a day and give readers a peek into his world.

I’ll let Austin take it from here.

 

 

 

“One of the biggest challenges I faced personally when entering the personnel world was fighting the perception that I was ‘just an agent’ and couldn’t possibly know that much about evaluating talent. After all, it was only a year earlier that I had been the guy on the other end of the phone lobbying other all-star game directors to invite my players to their game.

“To overcome this, I made a decided effort to visit as many college campuses as I could to personally visit with coaches and pro liaisons. In year one, our personnel director,  Cal McCombs, and I visited something like 55 college football programs between the months of August and November. We were determined to make absolutely sure that they knew about our game, and that we were very interested in their players. During these trips, we would often run into NFL scouts or scouting directors who were there to check out the crop of senior prospects. In a few lucky instances, we would be allowed to head to the film room with the scouts before practice started.

“To be able to sit and dissect game film with a room full of NFL scouts was an education that is impossible to put a price tag on. Truth be told, I mostly just sat there quietly and absorbed every bit of information that they were willing to share. Whether it was finding faults with a certain defensive lineman, or expressing concerns over another player’s off-field issues, I made plenty of mental notes on the litany of things that a scout looks for when evaluating a prospect.

“The other major obstacle that I faced was being affiliated with a ‘new’ all-star game that didn’t have a long track record, or even a national television deal, when I first came on board. I chose to instead view these things as a positive, since we had not developed some of the bad habits that some of the more established games had developed over the years. Essentially, we had a clean slate to make a good impression on the scouting and agent community.”

Austin will be back Friday to wrap things up, discussing some of the issues he faced in his campaign to advance his game (and his personnel work) in the face of tremendous competition. Back tomorrow.

 

Thinking (Big) Out Loud

22 Friday Jan 2016

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I’ve written pretty extensively about the College Gridiron Showcase held a week ago in Bedford, Texas, just outside Dallas. Its owners, Craig Redd and Jose Jefferson, took some chances and had big success, and I think the job they did will impact future all-star games.

Part of the week that helped sustain it financially was a workout on Monday that featured ‘street free agents,’ i.e., players who are no longer draft-eligible. The problem with such player is that the NFL forbids its college scouts from evaluating these players, which kind of defeats the purposes of their workouts. Unless a team sends its pro scouts to check out the action, there aren’t any NFL representatives to give players a chance. Most of the time, these players have been watched and evaluated multiple times, so pro scouts don’t see them as especially sexy.

However, big players are sexy. You can’t teach size. That’s why I’ve been thinking about an idea that might just attract NFL teams’ pro scouts to next year’s game.

Why not cast a wide net for ex-basketball players under 25 years old, then pitch them on the idea of trying football? Basketball players are the best pure athletes in college athletics, and they bring the kind of explosiveness and strength that the NFL is always seeking. What’s more, there’s a track record for such players. Jimmy Graham, Julius Peppers, Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez are all former hoops players that turned into stars on the gridiron. Even Steelers OT Alejandro Villanueva and Eagles OT Jason Peters, though not basketball players, are examples of big men who played other positions with varied success before finally plugging into the o-line and getting traction.

I’d been thinking about this idea for some time, but felt it wasn’t a powerful draw for a simple reason: basketball players not good enough for the NBA can still make good money overseas. Or, at least, I thought so. Last week, I had a long talk with Tyler Glass, who partners with his father to represent several NBA players when he’s not working with his NFL clients. Tyler told me two things that encouraged me. One, the international game is more fast-paced and doesn’t lend itself to players much above 6-foot-6, so the true giants aren’t especially valued in foreign lands. Two, most big men who do land contracts overseas aren’t making much more than $60,000-$70,000. That’s not bad pay for a few months’ work, but it pales in comparison to an NFL minimum salary of $435,000 for those who make a 53.

The NFL has a number of rules for the way all-star games can conduct workouts, and there may be several reasons why this idea would be untenable. However, what if it were? And what if we padded up 50-60 (or more) men 26 or under, and for a full day, timed them in the 40, ran them through pass-catching drills, weighed and measured them, and even did some modified pass-blocking drills? Wouldn’t it be beneficial to see if the next Graham or Peppers is out there, finished with his career on the hardwood and wondering what’s next?

It may be something worth looking at next year. Or am I crazy? Your thoughts on this idea would be appreciated in the comments section below.

32 Opinions (and More)

21 Thursday Jan 2016

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As we’re entering draft season, I thought it a good time to remind players, fans, and even a few people in the league where the info being Tweeted, broadcast, written, IG’d, etc., comes from. This is kind of a companion piece to Wednesday’s post.

  • Small agents: Let’s start here. Many players see an agent’s job as to ‘get their name out there,’ and given that this is kind of hard to do with NFL teams (that already have opinions on these players), many agents turn to the media. Once we get to April, countless small-school draft hopefuls will have had features done on them by small-school beat writers and/or draft websites trying to produce original content. This is why when you read these features, you really have to take it with a grain of salt when the player is described as ‘rising’ or ‘a probable draft pick’ or given other vaguely hopeful platitudes. Almost every time, this story was pitched by an agent and most of the backstory came from the agent. He’s just hoping someone somewhere will take notice.
  • Big agents: This is where the major media really come into play. Once we get into March and April, when pro days take place, there’s a constant jockeying for places in the draft order, and it’s important to understand the quid pro quo among top writers/broadcasters and the major firms representing players. Much of the on-air talent is represented by the same agencies representing players, so often the big firms can control almost all communications, good and bad.
  • Director-level NFL personnel: Many of the top front office personnel who haven’t yet made GM work furiously with the media to put themselves in the best light. Obviously, they can enhance their standing with national writers by passing along tidbits about the draft process and various players. Sometimes, a player, an NFL executive and top media member are all represented by the same agency. It’s really easy to keep the draft narrative on script when this is the case, and don’t think an agency doesn’t emphasize this during the recruiting process.
  • Coaches: More and more, the coaching staff is becoming part of the draft process, and I see this as a trend that could become even more pronounced if analytics continues to take hold across the league. Coaches often have cordial relationships with writers; they see each other every day, whereas scouts are out on the road and have far less daily interaction with writers. I remember a scout telling me that KC head coach Andy Reid, when he was in Philadelphia, used to give short shrift to the local beat guys, but when the national media came around, he always trotted out the ‘I’m fat’ schtick, and that’s just one instance. Everyone’s trying to get someone to tell their story, and coaches are one of the best examples.
  • Area scouts: I think this is the least common source of info. Most scouts at this level, unless they’ve been in the game for years, lack media contacts and are constantly trying to hold onto their jobs, so they’re loathe to provide inside info. Still, it happens sometimes. It’s just more rare.

It’s also important to remember that plenty of the info coming out over the next 2-3 months is subterfuge intended to mislead other teams about draft intentions.

At the end of the day, it’s very important to know how info travels around the league and just how much weight you can put into what you read. So keep in mind what you’re hearing and where it might be coming from.

The 2 Percent Solution

11 Monday Jan 2016

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Because it’s the season of all-star games, January is always a time when I’m with ‘my people’ non-stop — the agents, financial planners, scouts, coaches, parents of players and everyone who make up my clientele. It’s a pretty exciting time. It’s great to deepen relationships and make connections. This week, I’m in Bedford, Texas, just outside Dallas, for the second annual College Gridiron Showcase.

Seeing so many people here who understand the game gives me a great platform for answering questions about a business that has an ever-changing financial model. For that reason, last year, I decided to ask one question consistently to people around the game (especially contract advisors). Last year, my question was, ‘What’s the going rate for representing a player you know may or may not be drafted, but will surely go to a camp? What’s the going rate?’ Here’s the answer I got.

This year, there’s a large shadow looming over the business as the NFLPA seems set to lower the maximum fee for representing players to two percent from its present three percent. The players will vote on the measure this spring at their annual meeting, and it would be an upset if it doesn’t pass. For that reason, I asked three agents today this question: “If you can only charge players you recruit for the ’17 draft two percent, what will you do?”

I got three responses, and I’m paraphrasing them below:

  • “I have a great passion for this business, and I have other professional endeavors that bring me resources, so I don’t have to rely on it for a living. I’ll find a way to make it work.”
  • “I was always encouraged by my mentor to get on the business advisor side of the business. I could still work with players, but it’s not regulated and you can charge as much as you want.”
  • “I guess I’ll try to figure out some way to ask them to repay training fees (which can run as high as $25,000) when they get to the league.”

Three interesting responses. Note that none of them said flatly, “I’m out of football and I’ll never return.” This game, and this profession, kindles a fire in people that is very hard to quench. It’s why I always say that no one walks out of this game. They only leave on their shield.

More responses as we proceed through all-star season.

 

The Life (Pt. 2)

08 Friday Jan 2016

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Earlier this week, we talked about how so many players are infatuated with the trappings of playing in the NFL, maybe moreso than they are with actually wearing the uniform and taking the field. We also talked about how it’s a rather politically incorrect topic, though no less true. But let’s make another point. ‘The Life’ isn’t just something players are pursuing.

Here are a few examples.

  • I meet young people all the time who are college-aged or immediately past college and looking around for what they’re going to do in their life. If they get my business card, or the subject of what I do comes up, they almost always ask me if I take interns. I then ask for them to email me, just to see if they actually follow up. They almost never do.
  • The room where the NFLPA provides its agent exam every year in D.C. is always crowded with 200-300 people. You will see people from every walk of life and demographic there. Black, white, Asian, Hispanic. Men and women. Old and young. All of them are spending $2500 to take a test that will allow them to pursue a business that the overwhelming majority know nothing about.
  • I was just talking to a longtime friend in the financial industry who’s been communicating with a player rated in the first round for more than a year, walking with him through the process, taking his calls, answering his family’s questions, etc. He’s ready to walk away from the young man because nobody — none of the agents recruiting him, none of his coaches, and not even his parents — are willing to tell him no. There are simply no limits put on him whatsoever. Even the members of his family are unwilling to buck this young man, fearful they’ll get on his bad side and miss out on being part of ‘The Life.’

To me, the reason people are willing to do almost anything for a taste of ‘The Life’ is partially due to fantasy football. When a first-year agent signs his first client, it’s fun to share his excitement, but often the mindset is, ‘now I’m in the game! Now I have a real piece of the action. I’m in the league now.’

To some degree that’s true, but at the end of the day, this job is commission sales. Whenever I approach a financial advisor considering getting in the game, my first question is, are you comfortable recruiting someone you don’t know? Are you comfortable getting told, ‘no?’ Are you OK with chasing 22-year-olds, hoping for 30 seconds with them? If the answer is no, maybe you’re not interested in the business as much as you’re interested in ‘The Life.’

The Life

06 Wednesday Jan 2016

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On Monday, I was talking to a financial advisor who’s new to the business, but not new to football. In fact, he’s an NFL veteran who played at a school known not only for abundant talent but flashy players.

We were talking about the next couple months and how to approach potential clients, balancing the excitement of a career in the NFL with the sobriety that’s necessary when you suddenly come into a windfall of cash. Paraphrasing my friend, he expressed frustration with what’s ahead. “It’s just so hard,” he said. “It’s the life.”

The Life. It’s the gigantic hidden elephant that no one talks about these days when discussing the problems that face young players.

How do you caution a young player to save his money when the guy in the next locker is bragging about the shiny new car he just bought? How do you pull in the reins on a kid who’s former teammates are posting pictures of wild parties in splashy hotels on Instagram? When he’s been worshipped all his life for his athletic prowess, how do you counsel a young man that there won’t always be a happy ending, especially when it comes to money?

It’s a question that everyone in the game must answer. In fact, I’d argue that scouts have two questions to answer of each player they evaluate. No. 1: Can they play? No. 2: Do they love the game, or do they love the life?

This question has become particularly relevant this week as we’ve seen the Browns try a new tack and go all-out for analytics. Unlike baseball, football is a game where emotion and personality come into play far more than in baseball, a game that demands more consistency and less explosiveness.

Kudos to the Browns for trying something new, though there will be no shortage of critics if things don’t work out. To me, the success of their analytics approach will hinge on whether or not they can find an algorhithm that measures a player’s temperament and psychology equal to his tendencies on the field. Because whether it’s what takes place between the lines or in the places where players go afterwards, the life of an NFL player is more volatile, more electric, more unpredictable than most analysts can handle.

Paying Players

30 Wednesday Dec 2015

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This time of year I hear a lot of charges that Agency X ‘pays players.’ In fact, a couple years back, one of my better friends in the business told me he had lost all respect for a rival firm because he found out they ‘paid players.’ This surprised me until I realized what my friend meant.

It’s common to believe that all top NFL draft prospects are being paid under the table, Josh Luchs style. This is way off, of course, though I’d estimate that probably a third of the players slated to go in the first three rounds this spring are getting some form of illegal inducements. Thing is, all inducements are not created equal.

Here’s what’s illegal: any form of cash, money order, check, or promise of same to a player or his immediate family. Also, any gifts that have a cash value. Any cash value. I always tell the parents of players that I work with (usually about a dozen for each draft class) not to accept so much as a bottle of water or a car ride from an agent. Both have an assigned value. They probably won’t get a player in hot water, but it’s not worth the risk.

Here’s where things get tricky, and where agents are charged with ‘paying’ a player when they really aren’t. Paid training (which is standard for any worthy prospect), especially at one of the top combine prep firms. A monthly stipend. A signing bonus. A marketing guarantee of any kind. Any form of residential housing during training. In essence, when an agent charges another agent with ‘paying’ a player, he’s really saying the other guy was willing to invest more in the client than he was. There’s nothing wrong with this as long as the player is already done with his college career. In the overwhelming majority of cases, all payments take place then.

Here’s another sticky example. Today I was told by an agent that one top prospect’s parents are in bad health, and living on a monthly government stipend. He insinuated that the player’s parents had been taken care of by his agent months before any signed deal took place. Again, this would be illegal only because it was initiated before his career ended. If an agent was willing to do this after the player finished his college career, more power to him. But I’m sure rival firms would still make an accusation that the player was “paid.”

Anyway, if you get into this business, one thing you’ll often hear is that someone got paid off. Take this with a grain of salt.

A QB’s Dilemma

22 Tuesday Dec 2015

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I’m working with the family of a QB who’ll be part of the ’16 draft class, and I had a long conversation with his father today. I thought his perspectives on the coming draft, and what concerns he has for his son, were interesting, and I thought they shed a lot of light on the decision-making process. Without providing specifics that would give the young man away, here are a few observations on our discussion.

  • Marketing is a major concern: We talked at length about the marketing situation that faces his son. As we recounted in last week’s blog post, quarterbacks, receivers and running backs are really the only three positions where a player can make considerable off-the-field money. For this reason, the father is seriously weighing the value of splitting off his son’s marketing work to a firm that specializes in it (normally it’s something that the contract advisor is left to do).
  • What can an agent do?: There’s a perception, especially among lower-rated players, that an agent can get a player drafted much higher than he would without a good agent. Is that true? Yes and no. However, one thing that a good agent can do is get his client to the highest-rated all-star game available, and if the Senior Bowl is attainable, that’s big. That’s a major issue for my friend.
  • Coaches are a major influence: I already beat this drum pretty hard already in this space, but when it comes to the major draft prospects, it’s rare that there’s not some coach offering (usually unsolicited) advice. Some of the coaches have the player’s best interests in mind, but some are getting some form of compensation from interested parties. The hard part is figuring out who’s up to something and who’s trying to help.
  • Training decisions are tricky: When it comes to quarterbacks, release and footwork are critical, and the wrong trainer can come in and try to rework things, just to put their own spin on things. That’s why finding a QB coach who is willing to yield on some things but be forceful and stern on others is pretty important.

Real Talk on Pre-Draft Marketing

17 Thursday Dec 2015

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One thing I’ll admit I don’t know about the pre-draft process is the marketing side of things. With that in mind, I asked a friend in the business (who asked to remain anonymous) to give me a few pointers on the business for the benefit of draft prospects and new agents.

Today, he’ll discuss the pre-draft process solely. The following is what he provided:

Over the last 10-15 years, the NFL has seen an explosion in the marketability of its athletes. For many incoming rookies, especially at the skills positions (QB, RB and WR), marketing money can heavily subsidize or even supersede a rookie’s base salary. However, for many players coming into the league thinking they will make substantial money off the field, their rookie season can be a shocking reality check. Players are faced with many complex decisions and need to remember a few key things when considering how to capitalize on marketing opportunities.

Here are a few tips.

  • Choose the right marketing representative and choose one early: Marketing is primarily about relationships, and you want a marketing rep who has experience — a lot of relationships — and time to foster and grow your potential marketing relationships. For marketable players, many can make money immediately following the expiration of their college eligibility, and in some cases, that money will go away if not earned quickly. Once drafted, every NFL player is forced to sign a general licensing agreement (GLA) with the NFL Players Association that essentially signs over the player’s marketing/licensing rights to the NFLPA. A good marketing rep will know when a player should sign the GLA and which marketing opportunities to take advantage of prior to signing the GLA.
  • Consider hiring a marketing agent: The job of a marketing agent and a contract advisor are two very different ones. Contract advisors are used to dealing with teams, a situation in which decision-makers are well known, player contracts are a business necessity, contract details are public information, and there is a salary cap structure, including salary minimums in place. Because this is a rather involved situation, many contract advisors are simply not equipped with the experience or time available to devote to marketing. The marketing business is different. There, decision-makers are hard to locate, contract details are protected by non-disclosure agreements (and are not public information), player market value is extremely subjective (no salary structures or minimums), and athlete endorsements are definitely not a business necessity. Many of the most marketable players in the NFL keep their agent work and marketing separate for this reason.
  • Don’t get tied down: There are a couple situations that can complicate your career if you’re not careful. In some cases, agents or agencies will try to entice players by using marketing advances, which can be tied to money reimbursement or binding contracts that are difficult to escape and which can be harmful to players. Also, at times, agencies will leverage the marketability of their best players to enhance the marketing value of others, damaging the value of their best players. It is very important that when deciding on a marketing rep, you make sure your rep is dedicated to maximizing your marketing potential.
  • Get informed: It’s also important to educate yourself on realistic marketing opportunities. Skill-position players are going to make the most money off the field as rookies, primarily on trading card and memorabilia deals, while non-skills position players are going to have to be proactive and patient. For some players, trading card and memorabilia money will be the only marketing opportunities they have as a rookie, and can be quite lucrative. One of the most important things a rookie can do to maximize the money he makes off the field is to sign your trading cards and return them on time. In addition to trading card and memorabilia deals, there will be a few opportunities for certain players to initiate partnerships with shoe companies, NFL sponsors, team sponsors and other regional companies.