Building on the first entry of NFLPA Certified Contract Advisor Shawn O’Dare’s journey as a first year agent with Epic Agents, this story will recap both of Shawn’s second and third blog posts.
The second post centers on O’Dare’s reasoning for getting into the representation business: to do it the right way, and especially help his Miami teammates gain the right guidance. His first client was former Hurricane, and teammate, defensive tackle Micanor Regis. Regis had stints with the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers, but was coming off of an injury settlement and trying to get back on a team. He connected with Epic after initially sending a direct message on Twitter, once again showing the power of social media.
For those who are unaware, per being certified by the NFLPA, agents must negotiate a contract within the first three years of becoming certified, or else they have to go through the certification process again, which includes another application fee, as well as dues. So for O’Dare to sign his first client within a month of becoming certified was a huge relief.
When most people think about the life of a football agent, the first thought is just representing players in the NFL or trying to get into the NFL. However, the NFL is not the only professional football league with players requiring agents. In addition, there is the Canadian Football League (CFL), Arena Football League (AFL), and the Indoor Football League (IFL). These leagues are often viewed as feeder leagues to reach the ultimate goal of making a NFL roster. Often times players go to these leagues to get more game film in order to better position themselves for playing in the NFL.
The second entry continues to highlight the career path, thus far, of Epic client Ryan Williams. Williams was a free agent without any contract interest from a NFL team at the time, so he decided to stay active in other leagues. He had a workout with the Orlando Predators of the AFL and received a camp invite. His staying active paid off, as the Green Bay Packers worked him out and signed him to a futures contract, which meant that he would be one of the 90 players competing for the opportunity to make the 53 man active roster.
The third, and most recent post, highlights O’Dare’s experience on the recruiting trail for the 2016 NFL Draft class. This is one of the most competitive parts of an already ultra-competitive industry – differentiating yourself from the multitude of other agents also making their pitch to these college prospects. For those athletes whose teams do not make a bowl game, as soon as the clock hits zero on their last game of the season, they are eligible to sign with an agent. For others, who are in bowl games, the same holds true once that game ends.
An agent must not only be certified by the NFLPA, but also the state in which one is recruiting and sometimes even with the school the prospect attends. The rest of this entry delves into the recruiting process of some of Epic’s clients, as well as shows the client services component of being an agent, when O’Dare traveled to watch client, Cleveland Browns running back Duke Johnson, play two games.
Stay tuned to both Epic Agents and SAB for the fourth installment of Shawn O’Dare’s first year journey as an agent. To keep up with Shawn, follow him on Twitter @ShawnODare and @EpicAgents.