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The SIF Interview: Don Mewhort (Pt. 1)

10 Thursday Jul 2014

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Though we usually reserve Fridays for our interview series, we wanted to get a head start on things this week for our conversation with Don Mewhort. Like Marion Graves, whom we interviewed last week, Don and his wife, Gail, received our newsletter aimed at parents of draft-eligible seniors. It helped him as he led the vetting process for his son, Jack, who was selected 2/59 by the Colts in May after a sterling career on the offensive line at Ohio State.

Going into his senior season, what was your perception of what round Jack would be drafted, and where did you get that information from?

“We thought he’d be drafted, but we didn’t have any idea where, maybe in the first five rounds, and where we got that information, we got it from various websites and media outlets. Ohio State didn’t provide any resources for that. Ohio State stayed out of it pretty much. That being said, I didn’t think it was appropriate to work through Ohio State on that. Given the history with agents and universities, I didn’t think it was appropriate to rely on them for that. Coach Meyer and I have a great relationship and I think he would have helped me but I didn’t think it was appropriate.

“Ohio State’s coaches never offered advice on agent selection. However, (former Ohio State assistant coach) Mike Vrabel talked to parents on his experience before Jack’s junior year, in the summer between his sophomore and junior year, and that was an Ohio State-sponsored thing with the parents group.”

What resource or person did you use in the agent vetting process? The school? A friend who played in the NFL? A former OSU teammate? Parents of a former teammate?

“We had a friend who was in the business who was formerly in player representation that I spoke to. He has been out of the business for a long time. We talked to him. We also talked to (ITL’s Neil Stratton) briefly, and I think that was the extent of it.”

How much anxiety or apprehension did you have about the agent selection process going into Jack’s senior year? Was the process intimidating?

“I don’t’ think (Gail and I) felt any anxiety about the process. We only felt anxiety about the phone calls and texts that Jack was receiving.”

When did those start?

“(Mid-July), I guess. The way we handled it, when I got calls, or we got calls at home, we asked (Jack) to refer all the calls to me, and there was a process that we were going to go through, and we asked that they respect Jack’s privacy and commitment to his senior season. We didn’t really want him to be distracted. It can be overwhelming for the (players). It’s flattering, and kind of like going through the recruiting process again, but I’m not sure it’s in the best interest of the kids to be getting recruiting calls from agents during their season.”

How did you go about deciding how you would handle the selection process?

“It’s something we came up with, my wife and I and my father who’s an attorney; he’s semi-retired and had some time to spend on it. We tried to gather as much info as we could from the various agents, and (my father) and I met with a number of people and tried to narrow the list as much as we could. We probably actually met with 10, and then narrowed the list to five, and then picked a day in Columbus, and his mother and I met with the final group, between the regular season and the bowl game. We wanted to have everybody on the same day, so we had the same context for everybody. We met with each of them for about an hour, hour and a half, and then at that point it was really Jack’s decision.”

Did any agents offer illegal inducements to sign Jack? How did agents pitch Jack and the Mewhort family in an attempt to sway them to their side? What’s Don’s advice to other parents? It will all be in Friday’s edition. See you then.

The SIF Interview: Marion Graves

04 Friday Jul 2014

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We were fortunate enough to have Marion Graves receive our first-ever newsletter aimed at parents of draft-eligible seniors last fall. With ‘agent days’ under way across the country and contract advisors reaching out aggressively to acquaint themselves with the top ’15 draft prospects, we thought today might be a good day to share her insights on the interview process, the help she got from her son’s school, and other topics.

Marion is the mother Redskins OT Morgan Moses, who was selected 3/66 out of the University of Virginia last spring. She has a unique perspective on things because (a) she was intimately involved in the vetting and education process — which we highly recommend for parents of potential draftees — and (b) her son essentially went through the vetting process twice as he strongly considered entering the NFL draft after his junior season with the Cavs.

When did you first start hearing from agents? “Well, this was our second time around, so we were a little more knowledgeable because Morgan had a chance to go to the NFL in his junior year, and we were approached then by a lot of different agents, and had our information together. We have a very strong family and that was a really good benefit for Morgan. A lot of us are very business-minded, and when we had a meeting we went collectively as a family. That made it a lot easier this time around, and we knew pretty much what we were looking for.”

How close did he come to coming out before his senior year? “He was very close. It was just days before his information had to be submitted to the draft that he decided to stay. We selected finalists, and of the group that we talked to his junior year, there were at least three of them that moved with us into his senior year. So we checked with the ones we were interested in, and charted it out and did our own diligence, and when we got to the final three, we prepared notes and talked to Morgan, and the majority of the conversations regarded information we had gathered for him. We saw at least 20-30 different agents that we actually met with (during the vetting process).”

Did any make offers or do anything that seemed untoward or illegal? “There were some that I felt were crossing the border or on the edge of the border legally, and the way they handled themselves, we pretty much deiced we were not going to follow through with them. We didn’t get a lot of that from agents because I guess for me and for my family, it was all about what we needed for Morgan, and not my personal needs or anybody else’s personal needs. That’s one thing. I know many parents don’t exactly have a silver spoon in their mouth, but if they don’t (put the focus) on what (their son) really needs, they hurt the person they’re trying to represent.”

How helpful was UVa? “The school did a good job, but because we started this as juniors, we didn’t take advantage of all the information they made available to us. They had a meeting with everybody (seniors on the team) that was interested in moving forward (to the NFL), and it was not convenient to us so we didn’t go, but I did review their information and it was helpful. They really did a good job preparing us for the disability insurance (prior to Morgan’s senior season). Based on what I’ve heard from other parents, we got a lot more information than other schools. They were very helpful when determining the different types of disability policies (before his senior year). They didn’t point us in any direction in particular, but they informed us and forwarded mail to us, and any time we had questions, we just had to ask and the coaching staff gave us their opinions. They also pushed us to do our own due diligence. They didn’t want to sway us in one way or another, but they did want us to be informed.”

Advice: “As a family, sit down with the player and find out what they want. They’re excited and they’re moving to the next level, but they don’t have a full understanding of their needs. Get a full understanding of . . . what they think their needs are. Then also, go through the school. They’ve been with our child for four years, and they’re not going to sway him in the wrong direction.”

On the ITL newsletter for parents of draft-eligible seniors: “The information I saw in your newsletter was helpful. We had to understand what we wanted to do and what we needed to do before getting tied into a lot of other people who really wanted (to be paid) as well. It’s not just about the agents, but everything, from the financial planning aspect to business managers, and anyone who’s going to cover any needs for the player. When they’re coming at you, you have no money to manage (yet)! The good thing about it is that when you admonish us to do our due diligence (in the newsletter), it’s not just on the level of the agent.”

NFL Agent ABCs (Pt. 3)

03 Thursday Jul 2014

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So far, we’ve discussed the costs of registering with the NFLPA and the costs associated with recruiting. Today, let’s talk about training fees.

I always say that the business of football representation turns over about every 3-4 years. If there’s been one major change in the last half-decade, it’s combine prep. The specialized training that football prospects receive has gone from something that nobody did (15 years ago) to something that the biggest firms offered to players rated as certified first-rounders (10 years ago) to something that most draftable players got (five years ago) to something that every player that aspires to be drafted expects from his agent.

How much does training cost? For the truly established programs that have been training first-rounders for years and have proven track records, you’re looking at a total training cost that approaches $25,000-$30,000. That cost usually includes 6-8 weeks of training plus lodging, supplements and food designed to enhance muscle-building and take weight off (or put it on). Some facilities also offer options. For example, most top prospects will expect a car, so facilities might roll this into the price. Some prospects will want individual rooms rather than roommates. There are also out-of-pocket expenses like deep tissue massage or interview prep; some trainers roll this into the total price, and some make them options. The problem is, when one athlete sees his training brethren getting these perks, it’s hard for an agent to tell him he’s not inclined to pay for such add-ons. Of course, this doesn’t address the cost of flying the prospect home to see his girlfriend, or celebrate a parent’s birthday weekend, or any other special request an elite client might have.

As one might expect, this has had a major impact on the people seeking to represent young athletes. The cost of training has truly separated the men from the boys when it comes to agencies, with some flatly refusing to pay exorbitant training fees and some seeing them as the cost of doing business. It’s a major risk that comes with no guarantees. Probably every other year I get a new agent who subscribes who spent more than $20,000 on combine prep for a player who’s not on an NFL roster the week after the draft.

Often, an agent comes to the business completely oblivious about training fees and what they represent in the recruiting process. I guess the upside is that contract advisors with unlimited resources can often land late-round prospects with tip-top training offers. Of course, the odds of late-round draftees making it to a second contract are not good, so chances of recovering by assessing an annual three percent on the player’s contract are remote. Ineffective play, injuries, or abundance at a position might conspire to keep a player off a team’s roster, and unless he makes the active 53, he owes his agent nothing.

We’ll talk about how agents deal with exorbitant training fees in Monday’s edition.

In today’s newsletter, we’ve got a sample question for the NFLPA exam. Here’s the answer: (C) $885,000.00.

The explanation: First you must determine signing bonus proration, in this case $800K/4 years = $200K/yr. Then add that number to the first year paragraph 5 salary. $420K + $200K = $620K. Then apply the 25% Rule – multiply the $620K by 0.25 (25%) = $155K. That is the max yearly increase. Then just add the numbers for each year:

Year 1 – $420K
Year 2 – $420K + $155K = $575K
Year 3 – $575K + $155K = $730K
Year 4 – $730K + $155K = $885K