Tag Archives: NFL Scouting

A Taste of Tonight’s ITL Seminar

24 Wednesday Feb 2016

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This morning, I had breakfast with former Browns GM Ray Farmer, who’ll be speaking at our seventh annual ITL Seminar tonight. What I expected to be a 30-minute meeting turned into about two hours. It’s always fascinating to talk to someone who’s (a) been on the inside of the NFL and (b) is articulate, intelligent and insightful, as Ray is.

In the course of our conversation, we got to talking about how teams gauge character during the evaluation process. He said some things that I thought were very interesting, and that give you a good preview on the kind of things he’ll be talking about tonight (Room 144, Indiana Convention Center, and free for ITL clients).

Ray said that if you’re dealing with a player who’s a major character risk, there are two things you must do. No. 1, you must have someone who can be his confidante/manager. You have to find someone, either on the team or from his family or from his hometown or already on the team, who takes responsibility for him getting to meetings on time, or keeping him out of the headlines, or otherwise keeping his nose clean. The model for this is Randy Moss and his brother, Eric, whom the Vikings kept on the roster during Moss’ early days just to make sure he stayed on course.

No. 2, if you’re going to take a character risk, you have to do it with a player from another ‘strata’ of the team. In other words, if he’s a cornerback, you only take him if your other DBs are good citizens. If he’s a QB, you make sure your other passers are strait-laced. If he’s a rookie, make sure he’s the only rookie in that situation. If he’s from Ohio State, make sure your other Buckeyes are good guys. In other words, don’t take a chance on making waves that could rock the team.

He closed with this thought. If you’re an NFL team, you’ve got dozens of players on the team who are questionable, character-wise. Every single team is standing on the edge, blindfolded, hoping they don’t take a false step. One false move, and the could be headed into the abyss. It’s just the reality of the game. No team is safe.

Anyway, I thought this was good stuff, and a good indication of what to expect tonight. Are you in town? Interested in hearing info you won’t hear anywhere else? Come on down. But make sure you’re an ITL client first.

Nobody’s Perfect

01 Monday Feb 2016

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Like all kids, when I was young, I thought my idols were perfect. I thought they gotten to their respective places of prominence because they were simply better than everyone else. Not just athletically, but morally, too, and maybe even academically. Sure, no one bats 1.000 across the board, but people that had reached the top had done it solely on merit, I figured. Any mistakes they’d made along the way were pure happenstance.

Then I started hearing things like I heard last week from an ex-scout, who told a story of joining several other scouts one night after the draft wrapped up to run 40s on the stadium turf in the dead of a cold, windy night. Naturally, this activity had been prompted by several rounds of adult beverages, and ultimately ended with a high-level NFL executive tearing his hamstring.

I also heard that Major League Football, the latest alternative league vying to sell tickets to a suspicious public, drafted an NFL starter this year. And this league is run primarily by former NFL scouts, coaches and executives.

Meanwhile, today I got an email from a longtime subscriber who said he and his client had gotten very excited by a series of enthusiastic texts from an NFL team. Unfortunately, the texts came to a screeching halt when the team realized it was communicating with an underrated free agent teammate of the top-five pick they thought they were talking to. “That might go to show why they are always at the bottom of the league,” my friend said.

The point is that nobody’s perfect. From these stories, I hope you find encouragement. I hope these examples take a little pressure off of you. God knows I’m far from perfect, and I’ve been able to carve out a small toehold in the business. You can, too. Even if you’re not related to an NFL owner, and didn’t come from a Power Five school, and didn’t get straight-A’s in your sport management classes.

The people that run NFL teams, and that scout for them, and that coach them, and every other job associated with pro football, are just that: people. Work extra hard to make as many breaks as you can get, and when you get them, work until you’re blinded by blood, sweat and tears. But never believe that you aren’t good enough to make it, for any reason, because you are.

Determining Your Value

28 Thursday Jan 2016

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I was having a conversation with James Jefferson, a longtime friend who’s a former NFL scout as well as longtime NFL defensive back, last week. James will have a special role in preparing Clemson DC Mackensie Alexander for the combine and his pro day, and I helped arrange it through Inside the League. Anyway, we were commiserating about a few things related to the game, and he said something that really stuck with me.

“My girl is always telling me I don’t charge enough for what I do, that I don’t value myself the way I should, and that I’m worth more,” he said. “It’s hard to explain to her.”

Amen, I told him. I have the same conversation with my wife, I told him. Then we had a discussion about how hard it is to truly put a value on what we do in the game.

Here’s James, a guy whose life a lot of guys would give up a limb to have. Came out of a small school in deep South Texas, beating the odds (he had to go to the CFL before the NFL would have him), then enjoying a lengthy NFL career before becoming an NFL scout for several more years, then a college coach. Still, he struggles to put a price on the talents and experience he brings to the table.

I see it everywhere. I’m often approached by first-year agents who want to get hired by bigger firms. They’ve never signed a top-level player before, and in some cases haven’t signed anyone at all, yet they feel they can demand $80,000 with benefits because they work hard and hustle. When they come to me, it’s hard to explain that they’re off the mark.

To some degree, I have the same problem. What we provide through ITL is unique, and in some quarters, truly desired and valuable. But we have to be very careful with pricing for a couple reasons.

One, in this game, you deal with a lot of fragile egos. If you charge too much for a service, some folks in this business will take the ‘I don’t need you’ approach. We get that a lot.

On the other hand, for many others, this is a vanity profession. Charge too much, and they say, hey, this is a glorified hobby for me. I may not even be successful with it. I’m only spending so much.

If you’re aspiring to be in the world of football, I think this is important to understand. No matter how hard you work, no matter how loyal you’ll be, no matter how badly you want it, there are hundreds of people a lot like you. Don’t overplay your hand. I’ve been in this business almost 20 years, and I’m still fighting that battle every day.

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.

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.

 

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.

More Innovation and Opportunity for ’16

14 Monday Dec 2015

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I’ve been pretty complimentary of the things Craig Redd and Jose Jefferson are doing with the College Gridiron Showcase, an event that will give ’16 draft hopefuls an audience with NFL scouts without breaking the game’s bank. Still, Craig and Jose aren’t the only ones trying to give young players a platform.

Michael Quartey ran the FCS National Bowl earlier this month. Though the players participating must cover a game fee (around $600) plus their travel, there were 13 NFL teams in attendance for a contest that featured the Dolphins’ placekicker, Rensselaer Tech’s Andrew Franks, last year. This month, he’s back with another chance for players to impress with the first-ever Tropic Bowl next month in Miami. What’s interesting is that Michael isn’t content to run the game with his own expertise and contacts. He’s brought in former NFL and CFL scout Ken Moll as well as Austin Atkinson, who was formerly a central part of the hugely successful Medal of Honor Bowl in Charleston, SC, which just converted to a traditional bowl format.

I sent Michael a few questions this weekend, and he responded with the answers. I’ve gotten several agents who’ve been asking about the contest, so I thought I’d present those answers here.

Let’s start with the name of the game, its location, its format (just practices? Combine included? Game too?), and how many players will be participating.

“The FBS-level Tropic Bowl all-star game will take place Sunday, Jan. 17, at 1 p.m. at North Miami Athletic Stadium in Miami, Fla. The practice schedule will be the same as our FCS Bowl, and includes two days of practices and one game day starting Friday, Jan. 15, with practice at Florida International University’s (FIU) practice field, a grass surface.

“There is no combine included with the Tropic Bowl. Approximately 80-100 players will participate in the game, and our coaches have been with us for 5-plus years, so they will keep implementing a quick-learning playbook that has helped many of our other alumni get into camps.”

What is your football background and background organizing and running all-star games?

“East Preps is going into its seventh year of putting on successful all-star games and combines. I’m a former certified NFL contract advisor for a number of years and have organized the National Bowl and FCS Bowl at FIU, which had 13 NFL teams in attendance last week at FIU Stadium.”

What will be covered by the game’s organizers? (food, lodging, travel, jerseys, etc.)

“The Tropic Bowl will cover the three-day event, including food and game jersey but not travel to the game or lodging while here. Also, equipment will not be provided. We are not a big-budget game, and compared to the rising costs of player representation and training, booking a flight and a hotel room for the player to get some more film and to be scouted is minimal compared to the potential gains.”

How many NFL team commitments do you have? How many do you expect?

“We just had 13 NFL teams at our FCS / National Bowl and have just finalized our staff including experienced Deputy Director of Player Personnel Austin Atkinson of the Medal of Honor Bowl, along with 13-year NFL scout Ken Moll, so we will start getting commitments from teams starting Tuesday as we send info to the league. Although it’s our first year, we expect a decent turnout of scouts. We already have some great player commitments, and NFL scouts will only need to travel to Florida three days before the East-West Shrine Game reporting day (in St. Petersburg, Fla.).”

How does this game differ from the FCS/National Bowls that you ran in December?

“Our FCS / National Bowl featured top talent from Non-FBS Schools and is not a sponsored event. The Tropic Bowl is partially sponsored by NFL Draft Blitz and our training partner, Genetics Athletics. The game will not be held at FIU Stadium in order to keep the game costs lower and make the game sustainable to grow over time. Hopefully, we can grow our sponsorship in the next five years for this game.”

Why should a player attend your game over the other bowl games?

“In a time where bowl games open and close regularly, the Tropic Bowl will give players an opportunity to get scouted and interviewed and play in a great game with players from across the country, and there is no fee for FBS-level players. If a players plays, lives, or trains in Florida, it is a big plus, as it’s a short drive away. The Tropic Bowl will not be about bells and whistles, but rather players getting film, getting scouted, getting interviewed, and just playing football!”

 

For agents who don’t like to think outside the box, this might not be the right game. But for other contract advisors (and their clients) who are willing to take a small risk, this might be just the right opportunity. For more information, email fbsbowl@yahoo.com or call 609-367-2911.

More Insights from ex-NFL Scout Dan Hatman

07 Monday Dec 2015

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Last Wednesday, we featured Dan Hatman, who founded The Scouting Academy to help teach the fundamentals of evaluation to people whose one desire is to become NFL scouts. Though our interview focused on the exciting program the Academy will host at this year’s Senior Bowl, there are always things that don’t make it into a post. Often, those are some of the most interesting things an interviewee has to say.

With that in mind, I thought I’d focus on some of the insights Dan had on the scouting profession and the direction of the business for those folks who are looking for an edge. I’ll also add comments on Dan’s thoughts.

Dan: “I left the Eagles in Spring of 2013, a couple months into (head coach) Chip (Kelly)’s tenure, when I had an idea for Dynamic Sports Solutions. We were building software to value players, to take what the scouts do and run it through algorithms behind the scenes to evaluate the player.”

Analysis: Even though Dan had a job in the NFL, he was thinking of ways to address weaknesses in the business and identifying  markets. The tendency of a lot of people, once they reach the NFL, is to say, ‘well, I made it.’ That’s foolish, for a couple reasons. One, you’ll never advance if you are satisfied with where you are. Two, when you’re in the NFL, you better always be preparing for when you’re not in the NFL. It’s a volatile business.

Dan: “While guys were writing code (for Dynamic Sports Solutions) . . . I put up a post on Work in Sports, and said I’d be willing to help people that want to learn scouting, and I got 100 applications. That’s when the light bulb went off that people might pay for this.”

Analysis: I know I hammer on this point here at Succeed in Football, but if you ever want to get paid to work in sports, you’re going to have to start out working for free for a time. There are simply too many talented people with a strong desire to work in football to comb through, so you have to pay your dues (maybe several times) by providing your work for free. That may be in college, may be early in your post-college career, or may be much later in life. It’s the price of getting a chance.

Dan: “Scouting used to be former coaches who weren’t good at the X’s and O’s, or were of a certain age, and they’d be turned into scouts. But in the last 10 years, they’re hiring nothing but people under 25 who don’t have families, and they’re willing to work for $17,000 and no benefits. I made $17,000 with no benefits for a year. That’s intern pay. I made $18,000 for the Eagles. Once you’re full-time, you break the $40,000-$50,000 barrier, which is first-year scout pay. Once you have more than five years, you’re around $75,000, and directors are making six figures.”

Analysis: This is truth, and good info about the salary expectations if you’re looking to get into scouting. You have to work a long while to get into real money.

 

WSW: Finding and Filling a Need

02 Wednesday Dec 2015

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Dan Hatman was in his 20s, working as a pro scout for the Eagles, a few short years after making $17,000 a year (with no benefits) as an intern, when he realized there was a need for The Scouting Academy.

“It was 2012, and we were in camp with the Eagles. We had seven interns in camp. One had worked for a football team, one was a college player, and one had a crazy story who’s now the Director of Player Personnel at a major university.

“The back end of the (90-man camp roster) was hammered with injuries, and we were having trouble keeping our defensive line healthy and working that third unit. We had exhausted the (undrafted free agent) pool, and we needed to scout the (Arena Football League) for guys, so we got AFL film and had to grind that. These seven had made it through the door, and they didn’t know what to look for in a defensive lineman. While they’re watching the film, they liked sacks and size, but (we) needed a guy who could look for the mechanics. We (the Eagles) wanted a guy that wouldn’t get other players injured. The mechanisms we were looking for . . . what kind of athletic ability did they need? What kind of size?

“(Most of the interns) didn’t have a baseline for comparison, and they brought me a list of 25 guys that they thought could make it.”

The fact that seven people working for an NFL team — people that were barely removed from the scouting department — identified 25 players from the AFL that they thought could play pro football was an epiphany for Hatman.

“We ended up finding one guy, and we brought him in,” Hatman said. “Anyway, it was illuminating to me. I had seven human beings at my disposal, and we needed one guy for a week or two, and we still almost couldn’t find any.

“So I started asking myself, how do you do this online? The more people I talked to, the more people jumped at the cause, and wanted people coming in to be better developed.”

It was just a few months later that Hatman founded The Scouting Academy. Today, the Academy boasts of several big NFL names (former Bears GM Jerry Angelo, Broncos defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and former Browns head coach Chris Palmer among them) that help the Academy’s students learn X’s and O’s from people who do it for a living.

In January, at the 2016 Senior Bowl, Hatman will take 30 Scouting Academy students to Mobile, Ala., to spend a week watching film, grading the players and networking. Fifteen of those in attendance will be from the Academy’s rolls, and 15 more will be former NFL players learning the ropes so they, too, can one day become part of an NFL team’s war room.

“Our hope is that we can take those guys that have that passion (for scouting), so that if they get that chance, they have the tools to do it well,” Hatman said.