Today I wanted to discuss exactly what requirements must be completed in order to be a certified NFL agent. First I would like to say congratulations on making this decision but remember anything great takes time, patient, resilience, and innovation. The NFL is very stringent when it comes to applying to become an agent due to issues in the past and raising the bar for more qualified serious hopefuls. Below are the requirements but I would like to go into further detail to clarify any questions you may have. First a $2500 non-refundable fee which they use for the background investigation, seminar in D. C. and testing. Agent hopefuls should be aware there is also an annual fee that ranges from $1200 - $1500 and professional liability insurance one must obtained to be fully certified. The only time to apply for the agent exam is from January 15th – February 10th, if you miss the date you would have to wait another year to apply. If you do not pass the test the NFLPA will give you the following year to retake it, and if you don’t pass then you would have to wait 5 years. More importantly you need a Master’s or J.D. (Law Degree) in order to be eligible for the exam. The test is held in mid July and if you pass the exam, continued certification is necessary by attending one of 3 agent summits offered throughout the year. One being located in the west coast, second during the NFL Combine in February, and the third back east during a lawyer summit. Upon submitting your application successfully you will hear back in Mid May and receive information as well as study materials in regards to the exam in July. Upon completing the exam you will find out no later than October 1st if you passed the exam. Now the hard part starts where you must land an internship or job with an agency learn the intricacies of the industry and start recruiting. Many agents I have spoke to, followed, and interviewed state about 5 years to see some progress. So I tell people it’s not for the faint of heart and a very long and grueling business. But if you are passionate about this field, love the game of football, and feel you can help these young professionals go for it.
Required:
Non-refundable Application fee of $2,500.00
Undergraduate AND Post Graduate degree (Master’s or Law) from an accredited college/university
Authorization to perform a background investigation
Mandatory attendance at a 2012 two (2) day seminar in Washington, DC
Successful completion of written proctored examination
Valid Email address
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12 March, 2012
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Following my dream of being an NFL and NBA agent I regularly follow various websites that are geared to give current and up and coming agents information about what agencies signed which athlete, and unfortunately which ones just left. I can only imagine the feeling that the agent gets when receiving a termination letter from their client. A feeling of anger, disbelief, shock, and asking oneself “What did I do wrong?” Whether you have worked with a client for 6 months, a year, or 5 years it can be detrimental to the agent and his reputation.
Just to give you an idea of how one week can change, I recently read about Mark Teixeira that just left Scott Boras after 12 years feeling that it was about agent not Mark Teixeira the baseball player. Kris Humphries fired his old agent, signed with Dan Fegan, and then after a year went back to his old agent Marc Cornstein.
The way I see it is the athlete is convinced whether through another agent, family member, or himself that it is time for a change. This ultimately falls on what is best for the athlete and his family. If the athlete feels he can get more money with a bigger agency, better marketing, or feels he is better taken care of, can determine if the agent will keep that initial client. I feel that if an agent takes the time to truly get to know the player and family and is completely honest with them will yield better results. From an outsider looking in especially on bigger agencies I feel that there is not enough one on one attention and you are just a number among the client roster. Smaller agencies might have a harder time putting together better deals because of the limited resources and contacts. So in hindsight both big and small agencies have their pros and cons but, when looking at the bigger picture I feel by signing with an agent that not also has your best interest, has a clear understanding of what their doing, can be just as good as the bigger firms. At the end of the day it’s whom you feel as the athlete that can get the job done.
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06 March, 2012
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Upon reading various articles on Experts Views on Business Plans I learned a lot of valuable concepts, ideas, and strategies. One of the ideals that stood out was by Patti Brotherton. Patti would sit down at the end of the year and reflect on what has transpired over the last year and figure out what she can do better goals wise as well as growth wise. I feel this is a great tool for any business owner to get a better understanding of what works and what does not in their practice. More importantly by writing you goals and giving set deadlines will see them become a reality. Another individual that resonated with me is Donald Trump and how he stresses the importance of a business plan because without it, you are bound to fail. This is important because it gives you a sense of what you are doing and how you will get where you want to be.
Another great article I read was by Paul Heyworth who stresses the importance of a business plan and the message it conveys. Paul stresses targets that way you can measure what you have achieved so far. More importantly it gives you a clear vision of your projections and what you need to be focusing on. This also helps in the finance side because if an investor is looking to be a part of your company you need clear cut numbers to show to them for confidence in your business.
The plans I will focus on are due dates, goals, and follow up. By holding oneself accountable will guarantee work gets done by certain deadlines. Also for investors I feel that projections, hard numbers, and consistent performance are the most important factors when investors are on the fence about investing in your company. One factor that business owners, entrepreneurs, and potential investors should implement is always looking for a company or opportunity that has a history of earnings. That way your risk is not as high because you are investing in a successful company that knows what they are doing.
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16 February, 2012
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The first individual I would like to talk about would be Mark Cuban the owner of the Dallas Mavericks. At the age of 31 Mark and his friend Todd Wagner started AudioNet back in 1995 which eventually became Broadcast.com in 1998 and had grown to 330 employees, they had eventually sold the company for $5.9 billion in Yahoo stock. After Mark went on to various business ventures none more bigger than purchasing the Dallas Mavericks in 2000. Mark has also been an investor in many different startups and business endeavors.
Mark stresses that in any business the only thing that matters is the bottom line. More so in running a major sports franchise, your team has to win because it has a trickling effect all the way down to the fans. Without wins fans have nothing to cheer for because they want to become a part of something. Winning cures everything and finding out the formula for success in any business takes time. In any business endeavor you have to be committed, focused and put in 100% effort in order to have success. More importantly Mark stresses to find out your strengths and find great people that compensate for your weaknesses. More so he focuses on using transactional value to cash. Stating to pay off all debts then look at your options. By having no debt you are put in a better position, by paying everything in cash, you can always negotiate. Mark also talks about investing in you, and looking at investments in startups compared to the stock market.
The second individual I would like to talk about is Daniel Snyder who is the current owner of the Washington Redskins, owner of Dick Clark productions, and investor in Red Zebra Broadcasting. Snyder first made his mark in the business world when he and his sister Michelle founded a marketing company, Snyder Communications LP that focused on different faucets of marketing. Eventually through mergers and acquisitions Snyder Communications was sold to a French Advertising and Marketing Group for $2 billion.
Upon reading various articles about Daniel Snyder, he discusses one must think outside the box and really look at different areas to capitalize in. An example would be his Washington Redskins; beyond that what other revenues streams can organically come from this. Is this through sponsorships, marketing, television etc.? Investors want a thorough explanation of projections and how you are going to meet them. By having a detailed game plan and keen sense of where the investor is coming from, can determine ultimately if you will receive financial backing at all.
Business Plans can be challenging and overwhelming but by clearly defining what your goals and plans are, can determine how successful your business starts off. More importantly learning from successful entrepreneurs and the mistakes they made can also cut the learning curve and future headache. By implementing some tried and tested knowledge will prove dividends in the long run.
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31 January, 2012
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Breaking Down a New NFL Agent Cost
I’m sure at one point or another we all have seen the movie Jerry Maguire starring Tom Cruise that gave an insider look on what exactly happens in the sports agency world. Just to give the readers exactly how it works and some of the cost incurred in starting this new endeavor, I wanted to give a breakdown of the cost. First the NFLPA made it a few years back that if an individual wanted to sit for the agent certification exam they would need an advance degree whether it is a Law Degree or a Master’s Degree. Check out
https://www.nflplayers.com/About-Us/FAQs/Agent-Certification-FAQs/; secondly, pay a one-time fee currently $2500 last year $1650 for the agent application, test, and background check. Then one must pay NFL annual dues $1200 for 10 or less active players and $1700 for 10 or more. Lastly one must get professional liability insurance, which can run roughly $1000 a year. After looking at the added cost this definitely adds up and can be highly expensive starting this new career path.
But with the bad there is some promising information as well. A common misconception about becoming a sports agent is that your sports agent salary is dependent upon player contract negotiations. In actuality you can build your salary in a variety of ways by offering different services including endorsement opportunities, financial planning, personal appearance and many more.
Annual Athlete & Sports Agent Salary Potential
Naturally, everyone wants to know how much their sports agent salary will be and this depends on the athlete client(s) you sign. Major league sports are big business and the following table contains realistic annual salaries for high-end clients. It is common for successful sports agents to make well over $1,000,000 per year, all it takes is one solid client and you can have a rewarding sports agent career.
Top Athlete Salaries
Sports League | Athlete Salary | Agent Salary |
MLB | $20,000,000 | $600,000 |
NBA | $25,000,000 | $750,000 |
NFL | $18,000,000 | $540,000 |
NHL | $10,000,000 | $300,000 |
Of course, these are the top athletes on their respective teams and it may be more realistic to start off recruiting some lower level or young, up and coming clients. Here is another chart I put together.
Player Average Salaries
Sports League | Athlete Salary | Agent Salary |
MLB | $2,800,000 | $84,000 |
NBA | $4,200,000 | $126,000 |
NFL | $1,700,000 | $51,000 |
NHL | $1,800,000 | $54,000 |
I hope this information here provides some valuable insight and focus on something that you want to do as a career and not a job, which will provide overall happiness in the long run.
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18 January, 2012
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5 years ago, a college scout or recruiter would have to drive several hours to watch, meet, and entice a potential recruit for their university. This due to the fact that technology was not as advance and it was difficult to get up to date information on a specific athlete, including real live stats. With the advancement of technology recruiters are having a much easier time canvassing and zeroing in on what athletes they want to recruit and which ones they want to spend their time on. Greg Kannerstein, director of athletics stated “The nature of the recruiting process gets more organized every year”. Parents are becoming savvier and athletes are more knowledgeable about the recruiting process. In a way it seems that it can beneficial for both parties because a lot of the grey areas are out in the in open already.
Before many kids that were recruited by smaller schools had to promote themselves by making DVDs of their highlights and sending it out to athletic recruiters and directors. Now with the advent of technology kids can post their reel or demo of their sports accolades on YouTube. Making it much easier for universities to preview the potential recruit. One university baseball coach liked the idea of kids putting on their own recruiting video due to the fact that it is raw. Meaning that you do not get a lot of added fluff and you truly seem the kids true mechanics and if there is something that can benefit the collegiate team.
One success story of marketing yourself was Lacrosse player Ian Mitchell of Washington Township High School in New Jersey. Ian did exceptionally well in Lacrosse but had a hard time reaching recruits, so he took the liberty of posting a video on YouTube, which highlighted a 10-minute span of an Olympic Conference game. Mitchell had about 40 plus views but all from college coaches. The video can be seen here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NTIpScT144.
With technology evolving young kids and college athletes will be able to market themselves and reach different target markets. Whether it is a prominent kid trying to get an athletic scholarship or a recent college grad trying to get signed by a pro team, YouTube is definitely a great way to market one’s skills for an inexpensive cost.
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06 January, 2012
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I recently had the opportunity to speak with David Canter, chairman and ceo of DEC mgmt. Some of David’s highlights consist of negotiating a 9 yr. 135.75 million dollar deal for running back Stephen Davis. Also negotiating the largest ever NFL playing contract for a punter representing pro bowler Todd Sauerbrun. After giving a brief introduction of my background and myself I wanted to ask David more in depth questions in regards to the sports agency field.
I noticed you have Strong Safety Eric Weddle as one of your clients had did you end up recruiting him?
At the time I actually had an intern doing work for me in regards of scouting potential clients for the upcoming draft. He actually had set up a meeting with Eric and wanted me to speak with him in possible representing him. Eric had played football for BYU and was an MVP for his team the years he played there. Eric did not really get too much recognition because it was a smaller school. When I met with Eric we connected instantly and stated we would be in touch throughout the year. We basically texted for about a year and by chance we ended up being in Vegas at the same time, we had a strong connection and Eric ended up giving me a chance.
How do you separate yourself from the big firms?
First of all, I’m not trying to be those guys, that represent 50 -100 clients. I create a one-on-one personal experience for each and every player I represent. They know when they call me they deal directly with me and not some intern handling my matters.
Being a new agent what are some ways agents get a hold of college athletes?
Well, I can’t give away my secrets, but universities put on agent days where athletes can meet with agents and hear what they have to offer. Usually parents or coaches are there with them to help guide them through the process. You would need to contact the compliance department in order to be registered.
What do you feel about new agents going after 6th and 7th rounders in the NFL Draft?
My advice to any new agent is don’t, that is a sure way you will go broke. Many of them do not last in the league, so your best bet is to go for the 1st – 5th rounder’s, but remember the higher the caliber athlete the tougher the competition. But the lower round picks are just as hard to recruit as the high round picks, so aim high.
What advice do you have for somebody getting started in the field?
Be willing to work your butt off and not got paid for a couple of years. You are competing with other people that want this opportunity just as bad as you, if not more. Be willing to move because you never know what that specific opportunity may bring. More importantly remember this is a field you are passionate about and remember that as a way to carry you through the hard times.
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06 December, 2011
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