The cost of being an agent can take quite a toll for someone looking to get into the industry without a large bankroll behind him/her. There are state registration fees (which need to be paid if you are recruiting student athletes), players associations charge fees (minus baseball), and if you want to be an NFLPA certified agent, you will also have to buy up some insurance. A couple of weeks ago, the NFLPA website came out with an informative piece regarding its new mandatory insurance policy.
In 2004, the NFLPA conducted a survey of its agents and found that more than two-thirds of its 800 certified contract advisors did not have any insurance. For those who said they did have insurance, further review showed that most did not have insurance covering their activities as an agent, only for their law practice activities. When these survey results were revealed to the NFLPA Board of Player Representatives, they responded by voting in 2005 to make insurance mandatory for agents in order to maintain their certification in good standing. Today, the NFLPA is the only major sports union to require insurance for its agents.
The insurance covers agent activity such as providing services to NFL players in the negotiation and enforcement of their NFL player contracts, and providing advice to players with respect to the protection and enforcement of their rights and benefits under the CBA.
The NFLPA is working with Capital Professional Insurance Managers (CPIM) to provide an insurance product designed for this coverage. This year the premium has been reduced for the third consecutive year to rates starting at $1,750. Players or agents with questions should call Athelia Doggette in the NFLPA Agent Administration and Salary Cap Department.
The life of an NFLPA agent is tough. You must pay a $1,650 non-refundable application fee, earn a post-graduate degree, travel to Wash D.C. for a two day seminar followed by a written exam (which supposedly only has about a 60% passing rate), continue to attend an NFLPA seminar every year, negotiate at least one player contract within every three-year period that you are certified, AND pay for insurance yearly. All to be rewarded a maximum of 3% on a contract that you negotiate for a client. But in the back of your mind, you still are driven by the story of Jerry Maguire, right?
3 replies on “NFLPA Mandatory Insurance”
Good morning. A fellow rep and myself were just discussing the $1,750.00 annual premium. Initally, it was a $1,000.00 more when it first became mandatory (ironically through AIG), but the majority of the NFLPA certified reps sought better rates. As you can see, one was obtained and through a different provider.
The lower premium was obtained because of our collective efforts as one. This collective effort needs to come into play again for next year to obtain an even lower premium. How many reps have had claims filed against them? Even those that have, they are definitely not the majority.
So, let’s begin this campaign now, by contacting HUB Int’l or whomever your provider may be and demand that our premiums be reduced.
Every little bit helps.
D. Deloatche
The NFLPA mandatory insurance is currently offered through Capital Professional Insurance Managers, Inc. The NFLPA told me that we are supposed to use this provider and that this is the lowest premium on the market that you could find. Do other providers offer lower premiums?
The program will eventualy meet a minimum premium requirement (most likely $1,000.00) up until a claim is filed. Whichever company (through HUB or Capital) has a claim filed and paid first, will most likely be the first to drop out of this type of insurance program due to loss ratio. I would imagine that any claim would be sizable in comparison to the number of premiums paid. The true test is when a claim is filed and how it will be handled.