Month: April 2009

In my 23 years an NFL agent, I’ve placed well over 50 players as undrafted free agents (UFA). I used to call this time immediately after the draft “the worst two hours in football.”

My first UFA to make it was TE Mike Dyal from Texas A&I (now Texas A&M-Kingsville), who went undrafted after 12 rounds of the 1988 draft. This was the NFL draft, not Major League Baseball. After waiting for teams to call (remember, there was no Internet or late-round TV broadcast), I was finally contacted by George Karras of the L.A. Raiders well after the draft had ended. Several other calls also came in, but George seemed to know more about Mike than the others.

To me, it was a no-brainer to send Mike there because the Raiders had an aging Todd Christensen, and their back-up was the deep snapper. Also, I knew they had a scout who lived in the area and came to Mike’s campus often. Mike ended up making the team, started in his second season and played several years in the league. I had my first “make it” client.

In 1988, I didn’t have a formula for helping UFAs. I simply relied on instinct and depth charts. Luckily for Mike, I made the right decision.

Today, with the draft down to just seven rounds and only 80 roster spots, agents must have a fail-safe process for helping UFAs find a team with the best opportunity. If our advice and assessment is inaccurate, it could cost a player his chance and possibly his lifelong dream.

Before rosters were capped at 80 players, teams used to bring in 100 to 125 players per team – some as many as 140. That meant a lot more jobs. And instead of cutting promising rookies, teams would say a guy was hurt and place him on IR to hide and develop him, as the Raiders did with Dyal in his rookie season.

On Sunday, we’re going to have hundreds of disappointed players looking to land contracts after Mr. Irrelevant goes off the board. Amazingly, over 440 roster spots will be filled in less than one hour. Once the door shuts on the last spot, there will still be hundreds of players without contracts on the outside looking in.

Here’s a look at the roster numbers:

In 2008, there were 452 players signed as UFAs (average of 14 per team).

Total Roster spots: 2,560 (80 spots, 32 teams)

2009 draft slots: 256

Total players currently under contract: 2,049

Total of draft slots and current players: 2,305

Total estimated number of UFAs signed: 450 (an average of 14 per team)

Keep in mind that draft picks DON’T count against the 80-man roster until they’re signed, sometime in late July. Eventually, street free agents from previous years and a good number of the UFAs will be weeded out and cut before the first day of camp. Ouch!

This year, I’ll be representing five players:

Seth Olsen, guard, Iowa

Rob Bruggeman, center, Iowa

Andy Brodell, wide receiver, Iowa

John Matthews, wide receiver, University of San Diego

Ben Muth, tackle, Stanford

Seth, Rob and John will most likely be drafted. Andy and Ben are late rounders to UFAs. However, it’s my duty as the agent for all these players to prepare a plan in case they’re not drafted. Remember the Jim Hoffman story.

I prepare a UFA plan for all my players, regardless of how high they’re rated, just in case there’s an unknown surprise. I even did a quick one for Tyrell Johnson last year, even though he was rated very high. Tyrell was taken in the second round by the Vikings.

In order to find the best match and best opportunity for my players, I use the following criteria (in order of importance):

1. Stability of Organization

2. Retention history with UFAs

3. New regime credit (new GM and or head coach)

4. Depth chart and current roster

5. Depth of scouting and knowledge of client

6. Signing bonus

7. Scheme and prototype fit

For any young agents reading this, I recommend you take a look at these criteria as they may help you find the best opportunity for your client.

Stability of organization: It doesn’t benefit a young player to go to a team that’s struggling to find itself or has a dysfunctional environment. Young players will tend to get lost in the shuffle on a desperate team. If you have a coaching staff and/or a GM on the hot seat, they are just trying to survive and could be looking for quick fixes to save their jobs. Occasionally, a chaotic situation can spell opportunity for an UFA. Another benefit of being a UFA on a good team is that they are usually scouted more by other teams in the preseason.

Examples: Pats, Colts, Steelers, Cardinals, Ravens.

Retention history with UFAs: Even if a team has a stabile leadership, it may have a terrible retention history with young UFAs. So it’s vital that the agent knows which teams have a good and bad retention history. I’ll go back three years to study a team’s retention history. Here are a few examples of what some teams did in 2008:

Club UFAs signed opening-day roster practice squad total

Cardinals 14 2 3 5

Falcons 11 0 3 3

Ravens 14 4 3 7

Bears 15 1 1 2

Broncos 7 4 1 5

Chiefs 24 4 5 9

Chargers 17 1 2 3

Bills 10 0 6 6

I want to reiterate that this is just one tool I use to help zero in on the best team for my client. Agents have to go back three years to identify team patterns. For example, even though the Chargers retained only three of 17 in 2008, they had one of the best retention numbers in 2007. Their UFAs usually get a lot of playing time and are seen by other teams as well.

New regime credit: Any team that has a new GM and head coach gets a big credit in my book. They’re usually trying to clean house and are more likely to be harder on the guys who are already there and more open-minded about giving young guys a shot — especially because it’s their first class of players.

Examples: Chiefs, Rams, Lions, Bucs.

Teams with new head coaches who have some say on final roster cuts may get a strong consideration as well. I consider the Ravens a good place to send young guys because John Harbaugh is used to dealing with the bottom end of the roster since he was a special teams coach for several years. He simply doesn’t take UFAs for granted.

In 1996, when Tony Dungy took over as head coach of the Bucs, I had three UFAs and sent them all there. Tony gave them a good chance to show what they could do, and not only did all three (Jorge Diaz, Karl “the Truth” Williams and Kevin Dogins) make the team, two of them started that year and all three had lon
g careers.

Roster Depth: Although I have this as No. 4 on the list, it’s usually one of the first things I look at. As teams purge their roster after the season, they develop needs for starters and back-ups. Many of the starting roles are filled via free agency and the draft. But sometimes a team has so many needs it can’t fill all of them. The fact is that most UFAs will make a team the first year by contributing on special teams. But you have to take a good look at the roster and depth chart of every team. I’ll evaluate a player by age, contract and durability. If they’re older and getting paid too much, or if they missed several games the previous year, they may be ripe for competition.

Once the draft starts, I will make adjustments to my team rankings. So if a team is only carrying six receivers but drafts three, I’ll move them down the list because most likely the draft choices will get more reps than the UFAs.

When evaluating a roster I also try to project where the current players will be the following season. The purpose for this is that most UFAs who do make it will spend the first year on the practice squad. Therefore, I am trying to tee them up for the opportunity in their second season.

Scheme Fit: Last year, I represented DE Eric Bakhtiari out of the University of San Diego. Eric had 21 sacks his senior year, impressive for any division. But he only weight about 255 pounds, so I had to make sure he went to a team that didn’t try to make him a middle linebacker or had a history of 285-pound defensive ends. After several calls, I decided to send him to the Chargers, who played a 3-4 and used players Eric’s size to rush the passer, just as he did in college. He ended up getting a lot of playing time and did well. Although he was released, he got picked up by the 49ers and spent the rest of the season on their practice squad. He subsequently signed again with the Charger this year – this time at 265 pounds.

My client WR John Matthews caught 101 passes last season. USD runs a pro-style west coast offense with all the terminology, patterns and formations used throughout the NFL. I figure if he’s not drafted, I can try to get him in this offense, where he would have an advantage knowing the system and have the luxury of focusing on execution.

Depth of scouting and knowledge of player: One of the tactics teams like to use in landing UFAs is getting the head coach on the phone to close the deal. They figure the player and agent will have a hard time saying no to the head guy. One year, the Bucs were pursuing my offensive tackle when they handed the phone to coach Jon Gruden to close the deal. Coach made a convincing pitch to explain why the player should sign with Tampa. There was only one problem: He was talking about a defensive tackle who wasn’t my client. He was out of the loop, so I passed on the opportunity.

When I can confirm that the GM, head coach and maybe the position coach have detailed knowledge of my client, I’m very comfortable pulling the trigger. I want to see that there was an investment made in scouting him beyond the area scout.

Signing Bonus: You might be surprised that the signing bonus is way down the list. It doesn’t mean that I don’t work hard to get the biggest bonus possible for my client. For some teams, the bonus is reflective of their interest in the player — in the NFL, money talks. However, you can get all the money in the world for your client, but it may not always translate into a solid opportunity.

Last year, the Rams paid zero signing bonuses and still signed 16 UFAs, with one making the roster and three making the practice squad. The Ravens pay, on average, about $1,500 per UFA but can offer good opportunities. The Vikings, on the other hand, signed 18 players last year at an average of $13,300 and had an outstanding retention rate of nine players. The Titans brought in 10 players with attractive signing bonuses of about $7,000. But they only kept two.

When I believe there are equal opportunities with different teams, the larger signing bonus wins it.

Average UFA signing bonus per club: $6,200.

Highest average: $23,000 (Vikings). Lowest average: $0 (Rams).

One issue that UFAs have to be cognizant of is when they have a young or unestablished agent who has also lent them money. If the agent is into the player for $10,000 in loans, he may be tempted to send the player to the team that pays the most so he can recoup his investment.

I’m currently in the process of making a short list for each of my players in case they slip through the cracks. I anticipate at least three will be drafted. To date, I have already received eight calls from teams inquiring about two of my guys coming in as UFAs. As I always say before the draft, if you like them as much as you’re telling me, draft them!

On Friday, I’ll add a Part IV to this series titled “Inside the UFA Market” in which I’ll share some war stories, strategies and tactics by both teams and agents. This is a must read for any player who could become a UFA.

Click HERE to read Part I

Click HERE to read Part II

In all the previous years of watching the draft, it always seemed as if agent Leigh Steinberg was a permanent fixture on the annual televised show. If you noticed, he would always sit extremely close his client. I know it appeared he was advising his player on the outcome of each and every pick, which I’m sure he was, but he was also there for a self-serving reason – an opportunity to appear on TV.

Leigh was one of the first agents to step in front of the TV camera and speaks not only on behalf of his client but take advantage of a marketing opportunity for himself. If you recall, until Leigh came along, agents were rarely seen and rarely heard.

The other great self-promoter is Drew Rosenhaus. If there’s a camera around, you’ll probably find Drew nearby. If you go back to the days when Drew was at the home of his new client, he too was snuggling up close to his guy when the red light went on. Steinberg and Rosenhaus are great self-promoters and comfortable in front of microphones — and because of this, they have helped their careers by marketing themselves to the next year’s class of draftees.

I will never forget the panicked look on Leigh’s face and his attempt to look busy with phone calls as Big Ben Roethlisberger continued to slip in the 2004 NFL Draft. He had not been in that situation before, and it was clear he didn’t have a script for his client if he suddenly became the poster child for ESPN’s hit show, “The Fall Guy.”

At this point in the draft build-up, the process is driving itself with little input from the agents – although there’s a lot of communicating going on right now between agents for the potential top five picks and several teams. There are probably two sets of negotiations happening with the Lions and Rams, but for the most part, the agents will have little to do with the outcome of the draft. Our job is to keep our clients’ expectations in check, make sure there are no negative surprises in store, assure teams they have the correct draft-day numbers, coordinate various media requests, and most of all, ensure that their lifelong dream of being drafted is a positive experience.

I usually advise my clients to do something small and low key on draft day since it can be stressful. Have a small spread with only the closest of friends and family. The problem is that everyone who has ever known the player wants to be a part of it, so they drop by the house uninvited and simply hang around for the big moment. If a player creates a party atmosphere and his name is called later than expected, or not at all, it becomes a long, difficult day as tension fills the house or venue. You can almost feel the excitement melt into a funeral-like state. I love what the Browns’ Joe Thomas did; he went fishing with his father. Now that’s a stress-free environment!

In the past, I’ve spent draft day with clients. The challenge for me, and most agents, is deciding whom to be with if we have multiple picks. Can we get back to the office in time for Sunday’s portion of the draft and be ready in case we have players who aren’t drafted?

Four years ago I went to Port Arthur, Texas, to spend draft day with Iowa DT Jonathan Babineaux and his family. I felt very comfortable advising Jonathan that he would be a mid-second-round pick, third at worst. However, I had to be back in the office on Sunday to help several other players I had who were expected to go undrafted. You see, these guys are more dependent on me as their agent than the draft picks. I have to be organized and prepared to help those guys find the perfect team with the best opportunity. So I flew into Houston on Friday night and spent the entire first round and half of the second with Babineaux, then had to catch the last flight out of Bush International, which was more than an hour and half drive away. I’m sure some of Jonathan's friends wondered why I had to leave, but I couldn’t worry about that as Jonathan understood my dilemma and wasn’t insecure about his situation. Besides, one of those potential undrafted guys was his teammate.

About two weeks before the draft, I was told by several teams – including the Colts and coach Tony Dungy, who loved Iowa players — that they would take Jonathan in the second round. As the draft progressed, the tackles rated higher than Jonathan were almost all off the board. As I got up to leave, I did an analysis aloud for Jonathan and his friends and family. I told the group that I expected Jonathan to be selected very soon.

About 15 minutes into my drive to the airport, I received a call from the Falcons telling me they were going to take Jonathan with the 59^th overall pick in the second round. The Colts had the following pick.

One of my favorite draft-day memories was with Todd Rucci, an offensive lineman from Penn State. Todd decided he wanted to be in San Diego at my office for the 1993 draft. It seemed that all his friends and family wanted to be with him and do something big. Instead, Todd came out with only his best friend and little expectations. There were a few wild cards for Todd because he tore his ACL in his junior year and only played the second half of the season his senior year. He was even snubbed by the Senior Bowl. So even though he was rated high, I warned him that the injury might affect his selection.

As we watched the draft from my office, Todd took down a helmet I had on the wall for each team that took a tackle or guard. About midway through the second round, the helmets started to pile up. The draft was taking forever, and Todd was getting a little nervous. At one point, he went out on my balcony and laid on the edge, saying, “If I don’t get picked soon, I’m just rolling over to the five floors below.” He was kidding of course, but the draft feels like an eternity when your expectations are not being met. Then the call came in from the Patriots’ Big Tuna and the announcement was made. I was actually on the phone in another room giving one of his family members an update, so I missed the pick and the call. About an hour later, my other client, OT Earl Dotson, was selected by the Packers in the third round. We celebrated long and hard that day and into the night. It was actually the first year I decided to go into the business on a full-time basis, so it was a big day for my modest operation.

With a few days left before draft weekend, I still have lots of calls to make to coaches, scouts, GMs and others in my network. I realized over the years that if they really like my clients, they seem to return my calls quickly. They may not tell me exactly where my clients sit on their boards, but they will give me indications that we might be talking during the draft.

I want this weekend to be a positive experience for my clients. If they have an accurate idea how the draft will unfold for them, it will help to relieve some stress and allow them to enjoy their big day.

There are only 32 first-round picks, but there are about 125 to 150 draftable players who think they’ll be taken in the first round. They might not say it publicly — and maybe not even privately — but many of them believe their names will be called some time during the opening round.

Anyone who has an interest in the draft has seen all the mock drafts circulating around the Internet. The hundreds of media outlets that now exist, including this one, have given us intimate reports from the Senior Bowl, the NFL Combine and the various pro days. So we all have a reasonable idea who the first-round picks will be. You’d think the players are as tuned in to this as any passive draft junkie, but they’re not. There’s usually one of several reasons why: ego, naivet

There are several high-profile agents who make a living selling players in their senior year on the notion they can help them get drafted higher than they thought possible. The agent might be selling the fact that he has access to a superior Combine-training program, or that he represents a team’s front-office executives or head coach and therefore has influence, or he’s so well-connected and liked that GMs and owners listen to him. Most of these lines are just a load, but believe it or not, some of it is true.

Before I go a little deeper, I first want to say that the draft would be about 95 to 97 percent unchanged if there were no agents involved at all. So where and how do agents make a difference? At the very top of the first round of the draft and at the very bottom, in the last two rounds. Afterward, agents actually control the undrafted free-agent portion of the process.

The top 10 picks in the first round

If you’re an agent controlling one or more of the top 10 picks in the first round, you’re trying to do whatever you can to have your client be the No. 1 selection. If you control several picks in the top 10, you might be trying to dictate some type of draft order among the teams. Keep in mind that many agents and agencies also represent coaches and even GMs in addition to players, so an agent may already have a welcoming front office in which to wield his influence. The majority of owners and GMs can’t and won’t be influenced, but there are a handful who are as not as strong. I would love to list them, but that wouldn’t be in the best interests of my clients.

The other side of what can happen is that an agent will sometimes call a team and persuade them not to take his player by saying things like, “The kid doesn’t want to play there, and/or for your coach, and/or in your system.” Sometimes this is done without the player’s knowledge. The reason for this move is usually self-serving on the part of the agent, but sometimes it’s done in the best interest of the client.

The best known example would be the Chargers, who wanted to draft Eli Manning. Eli’s agency told Chargers GM A.J. Smith that he didn’t want to play there. The interesting part of this scenario was that QB Drew Brees, the team’s starter at the time, was also represented by the same agency. An agent or agency doesn’t want two of its star high-income-producing clients vying for the same job.

In this case, Smith and the Chargers refused to be dictated to. They drafted Eli, traded him and picked up Philip Rivers. It worked out pretty well for Eli and Drew as well. By the way, the agency also represented head coach Marty Schottenheimer and the Chargers’ offensive coordinator. Figure that one out.

Conflict?

There have been rumors that Baylor OT Jason Smith has pushed his agent to make him the first overall pick in the draft at any cost. However, the same agency represents QB Matthew Stafford and several other potential top picks. I have no knowledge if this request by Smith actually occurred, but if it did, the agency may find itself in a position of conflict. It would obviously like its QB to be the first pick to command maximum dollars.

By having multiple picks at the top, an agent can sometimes act as a decent conduit of information between teams who might be interested in trading up or down while simultaneously keeping their clients in order-of-position value.

The middle

After we get through the top 10 picks, the influence of the agents starts to diminish and teams start plucking away at their targeted players. Note that some owners and GMs actually avoid a handful of agents when making their selections. They may have had trouble dealing with them in the past, or they already represent too many important players on their team and don’t want the franchise at the mercy of the agent. You won’t ever hear a GM talk publicly about this for obvious reasons, but I guarantee you it happens more than you realize.

There are also agents who have a long history of holdouts. If a team thinks it has to depend on the player right away, it may skip him and go to a player-agent combo that will cause less worry about being in camp on time.

The back end

I truly believe that the back end of the draft helps to separate good GMs from great GMs. As the draft approaches the sixth and seventh rounds, agents and front offices are back on the phone. There’s a lot of cat and mouse going on here as agents are working hard to give teams the impression that their client is going to be picked before or after whichever team you happen to be speaking to at the moment.

Teams initiate these calls because they want to get an idea whom they should draft late and whom they might get as an undrafted free agent. The agents tell teams that if they don’t draft their client now they won’t be available to them as a free agent. In 2004, I had an undersized D-lineman named Jared Clauss out of Iowa. During the sixth round, the calls start pouring in from teams to tell me, “If he’s not drafted, we want him as a free agent.” After I had two teams interested, I told the next seven that called that Jared was going to get drafted and I already had a home for him with a certain team as long it didn’t draft a D-lineman the rest of the way. I didn’t want any team to feel comfortable that Jared would be there when the draft was over. I wanted the scout or coach who called fighting to draft him with one of the team’s last picks. Draft picks get reps and have a better chance of catching on. Jared was drafted by Tennessee with the 230th pick in the seventh round and played three years for the Titans. This same scenario goes on with all 32 teams times 300-plus players.

The stock exchange

When the draft ends, the worst hour of the year in football begins. It’s time for the NFL version of musical chairs. Several hundred players are vying for just a few hundred roster spots. Agents completely control the market because for about one hour teams are actually begging us to help them. I will write more on this topic next week.

During April, agents are busy coordinating trips for our players to NFL teams, helping them screen financial advisors and exchanging practical information to help them prepare for the transition to NFL pro. I can’t speak for all agents, but I’ve been making sure there won’t be any surprises, that teams have all the correct information and highlight tapes and, most important, that my clients’ expectations for draft weekend are properly set.