Most players are narrowing their choices right now. Jack Bechta
There are currently 771 agents certified with the NFL Players Association. There are about 2,000 players on NFL rosters (active, inactive, injured reserved and practice squad).
Right about now, college players and/or their parents are narrowing their decisions on an agent to two or three finalists, especially those whose teams appear to be out of postseason bowl contention. There’s a very small group of college players who will wait to start the selection process from scratch after their last regular-season or bowl game.
One of the things players and their families will have to figure out in navigating the agent landscape is, what’s the best-size firm for them? Additionally, they will have to look at other important factors such as experience, style, personality, work ethic, resource, clientele and methodology.
One way to categorize agencies is by size, so let’s take a look at the numbers:
Current certified NFL agents: 771
Number of agencies representing 50 or more clients: 7
Number of agencies representing 30-49 players: 14
Number of agencies representing 20-29 players: 8
Number of agencies representing 10-19: players 21
There are 50 agencies that represent 75 percent or more of all NFL players and most likely represent the top players. I think the size of an agency is important for players and their parents to consider. On average, I’ve represented about 18 to 20 players a year for the past 12 years and currently represent 15 players. It’s a number that works well for me and my infrastructure. I am, by choice, an independent boutique-to-mid-size agency. I tend to attract a lot of smart, hard-working offensive and defensive linemen, along with blue-collar defensive backs. For reasons I can’t explain, I do really well with kids from the Chicago area and east coast. On the other hand, I struggle signing SEC players.
Other agencies match up well with QBs and specialty positions. The bottom line is that there is someone out there for everyone. However, players and parents must take their time to explore their best options.
In the next 70 days, about 700-plus college seniors and juniors will sign representation contracts with agents. The best NFL prospects will sign with these same 50 agents. I’ll sign four or five of them. There will be about 500 agents who will be shut out.
Needless to say, my industry is one of the most competitive on the planet.
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Left tackle and cornerback are two huge compensation spots on most rosters.
The Big Ten might not be as much of a speed conference, but you always need to rep linemen for running in cold great lakes/plains weather, and every team uses enough spread elements to make linemen into good pass protectors in this era.
The key item for linemen is staying healthy and getting coached up.
Warmer venues(SEC and Pac Ten) allow for team speed to be of great emphasis at practically every position.
You're more likely to find the raw ability there, but determining who can be coached higher and who has reached their cieling, that is the challenge.
hi jack who do u think will win the bradford sweepstakes? also, i have to agree with u i see bradford being drafted by a team that already has an establish quarterback and a foundation, therefore, bradford gets to learn the ropes of the nfl for a couple of years, instead of being thrown to the wolves (aka tony romo).
Off topic but how Agents react to issues. I would like to hear your damage control methods for a player or coach that gets into some from of trouble. Tiger's agent and response has made his issue worse.
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Nov 09, 2009
11:27 AM
Hey Jack,
Any idea why you tend to attract linemen and DBs? Is it because you're more knowledgeable about the market regarding those postitions or do you think it's just more of a personality thing?
I know some agents offer their clients personal trainers. Depending on the trainer's specialty, do you think this might have something to do with why certain agencies tend to attract and/or focus their attention at certain positions?