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.

Here’s Why I Don’t Do All-Star ‘Stock Reports’

20 Wednesday Jan 2016

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This time of year, I do a lot of traveling to all-star games, and I try to make every practice. After all, that’s the beauty of all-star games. The workouts are the show, and they’re open to everyone, so why not go? But this creates a predicament. I’m often asked who looked good, and I have to say, ‘I don’t know.’ I know that sounds ridiculous, but there are several reasons for this.

 

No. 1, I guess I’m not really good at it. In the early days of ITL in the ‘00s, I used to take a hand-held cassette recorder, show up a half hour before practice, and studiously watch every play. Afterwards, I would retreat to my hotel room and spend hours transcribing the tape. At the end of the month, I would publish my winners and losers from the all-star slate. Almost always, they wouldn’t match up with the ‘winners’ (or losers) the national media types had picked out. You can argue about why that was – I distinctly remember in ’04 or ’05 when ESPN’s top draft guru published a glowing report on a player who had no-showed the week (it was promptly taken down; unfortunately this was pre-screen shot) – but the bottom line is that it was embarrassing when the players I had liked were nowhere to be found on the various websites. I recall one year when Louisville DT Amobi Okoye earned plaudits from various media sources for his Senior Bowl work, and it even vaulted him to the top 10 in the following draft. But I didn’t see it, which earned me some friendly jabs from his agent, a longtime friend. It’s odd, though, because I remember the performances of Oregon St. WO Chad Johnson (2001) and North Carolina DT Ryan Sims (2003), two players widely regarded as having had superb Senior Bowls that paid off on draft day. Those guys both killed it in Mobile, and I saw that with my own eyes. But apparently, other times, I’ve missed out.

 

No. 2, picking winners and losers is the best way to lose relationships. If you’re in any business for two decades, you make a lot of friends. In my case, most of my friends are also clients. So it behooves me to avoid providing a lot of controversial opinions, ones that I might add could be wrong. Criticizing an agent’s client is a lot like criticizing his kids, and it goes over just about as well. I can think of two contract advisors, right off the top of my head, that are not ITL clients because of things I said about their players on the site once upon a time.

 

No. 3, all-star workouts are where the league comes out to network and socialize. Just today, I’ve had two aspiring football professionals reach out to me about when I would be at practices this week and next. The whole week it’s been tough managing conversations with people and renewing acquaintances while also seeing friends coming my way to say hi, and trying to balance multiple conversations while simultaneously fielding texts and emails. It’s a very delicate thing. I want to give people my time and attention, and they deserve it. It’s just hard.

 

No. 4, it’s weird, but I’ve observed that often even scouts don’t watch the practices with their full, undivided attention. Many sit in the stands (you could always count on Texans GM Charley Casserly to be planted in the stands during his time in Houston, and I’ve noticed that normally his protégé, Jets GM Mike Maccagnan, does the same), but many roam the edges of the field with the agents, financial planners, marketing pros, parents, fans and other general hangers-on. I often wonder what their assignments are; are they there to watch specific players, or positions, or to just gather off-field information? No two teams do it the same way, so I can’t fault them for how they spend their time, but it just doesn’t seem like what’s happening on the field is as critical and urgent as some of the ‘stock reports’ make it seem. Hey, maybe I’m wrong.

 

Anyway, this is why you won’t get reports on who’s hot and who’s not though I’m at virtually every all-star game this time of year. I hope that doesn’t disappoint you.

Interesting Things in Bedford (and Elsewhere)

15 Friday Jan 2016

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This week, I was in Bedford, Texas, for the College Gridiron Showcase (CGS). Here are three things I thought were worth passing along.

  • There were two people I bumped into this week, David West and Tess Taylor, that were in the Greater Dallas area putting their obsession to work. David was an unpaid intern at the CGS, and Tess, who volunteered with the game last year, is now working at a high-end fashion store, Trunk Club. David spent the week working with scouts — fetching late-arriving players, keeping weigh-ins moving smoothly, helping fill in information gaps — and generally making himself as useful as possible. All of the time, I get asked, ‘how do you become a scout?’ Well, I don’t know if Dave will ever be a scout, but he surely improved his chances this week. Tess, on the other hand, is using the connections she made at last year’s game to build a book of business at Trunk Club, which provides concierge-level service to the apparel industry. Both of them are taking chances and stopping at nothing to bring their dreams to life.
  • I’m privileged to have been asked to speak at the 2016 Entertainment and Sports Law Symposium at Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law, just outside Los Angeles, in February. In the course of speaking to Evan Brennan, a grad (and highly successful young agent, by the way) who’s helping put the event together, I found out that one of the challenges of putting a panel together is finding people willing to share the dais. He said several agents simply refuse to participate when they find out who else will be providing insights alongside them. I found that amazing, but also a good snapshot of the intensity of this business. The stakes are high. Very high.
  • Already this week, I discussed the possible reduction of fees that contract advisors are facing if NFL player reps pass a measure this spring that caps SRAs at 2 percent (from 3 percent). Most of the agents I dealt with at the CGS this week are early in their careers, and they’re working hard for their clients, covering training fees, and trying to stay afloat without a heavy war chest. When I spoke to them, I figured they’d be so angry about the topic that they’d curse their circumstances and wag their fingers at the new rule they faced. But virtually all of them simply said they’d find a way to adapt. Their resolve remains strong and they are undaunted.

So what’s the common denominator in all three of these examples? Passion. Fire. Intensity. Pressure. High standards and a refusal to quit. It’s the kind of thing that I find really admirable, and the kind of thing you have to have to succeed in this industry. Have a great weekend.

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 Long Shot Deserving of Recognition

24 Thursday Dec 2015

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Today, I communicated with two friends in the business, former CFL and NFL scout Ken Moll and former Medal of Honor Bowl Asst. Director of Personnel Austin Atkinson. Both of them are working on the start-up Tropic Bowl, which is set for next month in Miami.

Austin and Ken independently indicated to me that they expect at least half of all NFL teams to send representatives. When you run a game like this, it’s all about scouting presence. There are numerous games held that NFL teams completely ignore, so this is a major victory for Michael Quartey, the man behind the game whom we’ve talked to many times in this space.

It’s still about three weeks until the game, and there is plenty of work to do before kickoff, so it’s premature to call the game a smashing success, Still, it’s definitely on the right track. Here are a few reasons the Tropic Bowl should not have succeeded.

  • Promotion of the game has been almost strictly via word of mouth, with no fancy media campaign on a major network.
  • The workouts and the game itself will not be broadcast on TV, though that’s becoming more and more popular with the “Big Three” all-star games.
  • The game’s arrival came a week after another game, the College Gridiron Showcase, had already been recruiting for a week after its own late announcement.
  • Players don’t get the usual trappings of an all-star game, i.e., paid travel and hotel stay. The players headed to Miami will bet on themselves by spending their own money to get a chance to be seen by scouts.
  • There aren’t any big stars slated to play, and none are expected to play. Most of the players will be solid, salt-of-the-earth types that may make a camp, but have a long way to go before becoming big-time NFL prospects.

On the other hand, here’s why the game looks like it’s well on the way to success.

  • The game is positioned in a place where scouts are likely to be anyway — in South Florida the weekend when scouts will be arriving anyway in Tampa for the Shrine Game.
  • Michael has been careful to surround himself with good people that have real credibility, like Austin and Ken.
  • Michael isn’t foolish enough to take on expenses he knows he can’t handle, like travel and lodging, just to impress a few people. He’s willing to risk being dismissed as a hack in order to be sensible and smart about the business he’s running.
  • By running other games like the FCS/National Bowl, Michael has learned through trial and error what it takes to run these games, and how to be smart about costs and personnel.
  • Michael is willing to take a big chance to make things happen.

Granted, for the millions of people who care only about which player their favorite team will draft in the first round, the idea of a game like the Tropic Bowl is pretty far down the list. But for people who want to find a way into the football business, i.e., the readers of this blog, I think Michael provides a blueprint on how to slowly build a league presence and earn clout.

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.