Category Archives: Agents

First-year agent lessons (cont.)

18 Wednesday Jun 2014

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Today we decided to fuse War Story Wednesday with Tuesday’s theme and continue to roll out first-hand experiences from selected first-year agents.

Coral Springs, Fla.-based Jason Beneby, who represents Falcons DT Nosa Eguae: “There are a few (lessons I learned). One is, knowing the true NFL evaluation system of a player. I think once you understand and have the ability to separate what the mass media think compared to what people in the business know and understand, that point can’t be stressed enough. I would also stress bringing in players with good character and the drive for hard work. There’s a sense of entitlement in this generation of players and the key is to make them understand their work is not done just because they entered the draft and signed with an agent. It’s not about living life like you’re on an NFL team because you’re not. You want players that are good character. The NFL’s reality and a player’s perception are two different things.”

Bellevue, Wash.-based Scott Weitz, who represents Cardinals WR Kevin Smith: “I wish I’d raised investors so I could go after guys with a bigger piggy bank, to pay for the training and whatnot. The other thing is, to really focus on the quality of guys you get rather than the quantity of guys you’re getting. One of our internal goals was, we read an article on (an agent) that signed five guys in a previous draft class, and that was kind of our goal, and he was getting publicity, and (we learned) it’s not that hard to sign five guys that aren’t getting recruited, but it’s hard to sign two guys that are getting recruited. And you learn that once the draft comes, it’s not always easy to be on these teams’ radar and at that point you’re just dealing with disappointed guys afterwards. And another thing, you gotta have ITL behind you, especially that first year.

Fargo, N.D.-based Michael Gust, who represents Redskins CB Bryan Shepherd: “You don’t know what you don’t know. And frankly, that’s why everybody should sign up for (Inside the League). Your emails and the phone calls (you and I have) had . . . you don’t know what you don’t know. Unless you work at a firm that does this, and you come from that background, you don’t know anything about it. And even if you have that firm experience, sports management firm, until you’re actually the one dealing with the player face to face, one on one, you don’t know what you don’t know. Inside the League provides you with that info, (and informs) us of what we should know.”

Hard lessons of a 1st-year agent

17 Tuesday Jun 2014

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At ITL, we take our job of helping new football agents very seriously. In the football business as in life, it’s one thing to think you know about a topic, but until you actually dive in and try to swim with the sharks, your eyes haven’t truly been opened.

This is especially true for contract advisors. Sometimes when we reach out to folks registered to take the NFLPA exam, they’re full of pluck and confidence, even cocky. Sometimes they’re a little nervous. Very often they’re somewhere in-between. But one thing is always true: after their first year, they have a dramatically different take on things.

For the last two summers, we’ve interviewed our clients after the conclusion of their first year certified by the NFLPA. Their thoughts go into our newsletter aimed at those aspiring to one day be agents. We only interview the ones who actually have players on NFL rosters, which is a fraction of the entire class. In other words, this is a select group that has at least experienced some measure of success. The last question we always ask is, ‘What’s the lesson you learned that you wish you’d known a year ago?’ Their answers are always insightful and interesting, but we have to edit them so they’ll fit the restraints of our daily email. We thought we’d pass a few along in long form.

Chicago-based Ronke Champion, who represents Giants FS Kyle Sebetic: “You need to do your homework on a player before you agree (to represent someone). Being a new agent, you want to just represent somebody, but it’s a lot of work to represent a player who’s not going anywhere. When it’s all said and done, the kid who I was doing a favor to his parents was the one who gave me the most trouble. My business got really busy then and I didn’t think I could do it. As a new agent, we just want to represent people, but those longshot kids are the ones that call the most and have unrealistic expectations. When his mom accused me of being a woman and not knowing what I was doing (because I was a woman), I said, you have my permission to go find another agent. I said, ‘You need to talk to me and tell me how you get that feeling. I have another kid getting calls every day, and your son isn’t getting any calls, and that’s not my fault.’ My advice is, don’t sign a kid — help them but don’t sign them — if they don’t have any chance.”

Slidell, La.-based Dr. James Gilmore, who represents Jets TE Terrence Miller: “Don’t assume that just because you’re getting to know a player that they’re going to sign with you. They aren’t yours until they sign the SRA. I traveled to the Cotton Bowl to hang out with (a player’s) family, and was about to go to one of the all-star games, and said, ‘You go on your own, and enjoy yourself,’ and he called me from the bowl game, and he told me he put (my) name on the list as his agent, and I was assuming things were well, and when he got home from his bowl game, he called and said he was going with someone he met at the bowl game. After two months of really good courtship, at the end of the day, his parents made him go with someone who had been doing it longer. He said his dad made him go with experience, and the other agent came to his house. Never assume. If I was smarter, I could have signed him at the Cotton Bowl, but being new to this, I was like, ‘take your time.’ It was like a new friendship, but it’s a business relationship that’s not filed until they sign the contract. Until the SRA is signed, they’re not yours.”

 

 

War Story Wednesday

11 Wednesday Jun 2014

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As we go forward with this blog, we hope to enlighten our readers weekly with a ‘war story’ or two that illustrates a theme we’ve been developing. Today, with the draft just completed, we’ll step away from our series on NFL scouting to discuss two stories related to the agent world that illustrate the uncertainty and unpredictable nature of the business.

One has a happy ending, and one less happy. First, the happy.

A first-year agent decided to aim high and recruit a player rated as a fourth- or fifth-round draft pick in the just-completed 2014 NFL draft. This agent decided to leverage a growing relationship with a top combine trainer to initiate contact with this top prospect, who seemed eager to communicate through the course of the fall. As the relationship with him grew, the new agent decided to improve chances by seeking to partner with a more seasoned firm. After initiating contact with several, there were a number of firms that expressed serious interest. Excited about the prospect of signing him, the agent heightened pursuit. Unfortunately, the player’s performance was disappointing this season, but his expectation level never slackened, and the agent began to realize that subsidizing training and providing living expenses would represent a sizable risk. However, the agent was willing to go ahead with the recruiting process, hoping to make a big first-year splash. Unfortunately, though the agent felt there was a close relationship, he opted for a bigger firm with a long client list and big reputation.

Ultimately, the story turned much sunnier for the agent. The player’s fortunes fell so far during the season that he was snubbed when combine invites went out, which was no small disappointment to the agents he had chosen. Furthermore, though he attended one of the top all-star games, his performance was lackluster. The coup de grace was an ordinary pro day performance that left his draft status floundering. Still, it didn’t stop his family from holding a major draft party at a local pizzeria. They invited dozens of friends, coaches, former teammates and family members to be part of their special weekend. Unfortunately, it all turned out quite awkwardly as the player went undrafted.

The agent wound up settling for a player who was grateful, less entitled, and ultimately far cheaper to represent. Like the big-name client the agent sought to sign, he’s also an undrafted free agent signee who’ll compete for a spot on a 53-man roster this summer, with about the same odds of making the team.

About 10 years ago, our second agent was a teacher in a high school in the Southeast. A conscientious sort who looked out for his students, many of whom came from underprivileged homes, he took an interest in one young student who was especially gifted on the gridiron. Speed was this young man’s forte.

The young teacher came to know the player’s family and he became an active mentor for the youth, so when it came time to weigh the college offers that came pouring in later in his prep years, the teacher was a key part of things. The teacher figured out how to compile and edit highlight films and put them on YouTube, while also imparting advice during challenging times with many suitors for the young athlete’s services. Ultimately, the player went away to school on a full scholarship, but the two kept in close contact. By then, the teacher was practically part of the family.

Flash forward four years, and the teacher, who had by then attained a position as an assistant principal, left the education profession and gained certification as a certified NFLPA contract advisor. This would be his chance to help the young man take the next step and live his NFL dreams, and the teacher would be a big part of things. When the player’s senior year became one of injury and unreached expectations, the teacher was still there, and signed the young man as his first client. He sent him to one of the best training facilities in the business to prepare for the combine, and helped with other expenses along the way, making a financial investment that was as significant as the personal investment he’d made in the young athlete.

Unfortunately, the player’s fortunes dimmed as his injury dogged him throughout February and March, and the relationship became more and more frosty. Never more than a late-round projection, he began to blame his longtime mentor because he wasn’t seeing his name among the lists of top-rated players. Slowly, the teacher began to realize there was no way he’d see a return on the five-figure training bill plus the added expenses he’d taken on over the past few months. At the same time, however, the player’s mother had turned belligerent and had taken to regular explosive phone calls to the teacher, blaming him for her son’s sagging draft status.

Ultimately, the draft came and went, and predictably, he went undrafted. The teacher worked hard vetting the various teams interested in him, but the player was reluctant and lacked enthusiasm. He signed with a team after the draft, but there was little joy between the agent or his client due to the stress of March, April and May. I spoke to the agent recently, and he told me that the player had fired him, blaming him for his fall in the draft. The agent, my friend, told me it was an  incredible load off his mind. But there was no joy in his words when he said it.

If you’re considering becoming agent some day soon or in the far off future, I tell these stories not to discourage you, but to give you a clearer picture of what happens in the business.

More stories next Wednesday.

 

Champions

10 Tuesday Jun 2014

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We’ll depart from our discussion of the life of an NFL scout by sharing a success story from a member of the ITL family.

Tyler Lyon is a former quarterback at the University of Arizona with a love for the game and strong roots in the gridiron (his father is the athletic director and former head coach at College of the Canyons in Valencia, Calif.). He wanted to make football his life and profession, so after completing his second year of law school, he decided to pursue a personnel internship with an NFL team.

Yesterday, Tyler emailed me, along with another associate who’d provided help and counsel, Chris Barry of Powerhouse GM, to tell us  he’d been hired to a paid summer internship with the Chargers. Naturally, Chris and I were overjoyed. My first question was, what will be your duties there?

“They said something about evaluating special teams guys,” Tyler said. “Nothing too crazy as far as the evaluation aspect and the opportunity to show what I can do. I’ll be breaking down film, giving guys rides, checking schedules and helping with the busy work they have to do.”

Tyler was kind enough to talk to me about how he made it happen, and there was one recurring theme. He said a major reason he’d made the cut was the support of one of his former coaches that he declined to name.

“The thing I’d tell anyone trying to do this, especially if they had a a college football background, would be to make sure you have a good relationship with (your coaches) because that’s the first person (NFL officials) are going to call. They called my offensive coordinator, and I had gotten injured at the end of my career, and he helped me stay on and help coach, and I think that’s one of the reasons (the Chargers) called was to learn more about me.”

In that respect, Tyler’s story is so common. In the NFL, as in life, you have to have a champion, a person who believes you and who is willing to help. For Lyon, it was his OC. For new Bucs GM Jason Licht, it was his former defensive coordinator at Nebraska, Charlie McBride.

Then there’s Jim Hess, a former Cowboys scout who’s been a bit of a champion for me in my own career. Here, he recounts the story of playing a role in ‘discovering’ Cowboys QB Tony Romo. In this clip, at the :57 mark, he discusses how, throughout his own career, he always had someone helping him get the jobs he earned.

Tyler had the good sense to build great relationships during his playing career, and it helped him beat the odds and get selected from a pile of applications that numbered in the 300s. Obviously, not everyone is talented enough to play college football, but one way or another, succeeding in football often pivots on finding that one person with a giving heart who believes in you.

You might find that champion after you volunteer at a football camp. You might find him after serving as manager of the local football team. It might be as a result of helping high school players find college scholarships. It’s true for people across the football industry, and probably across all professions.

If you’re aspiring to be an NFL scout some day, keep this in mind.