Neil's brief primer:
Sean wanted to be a professional baseball player, but when he realized that dream wouldn't come true, he thought representing those athletes would be a great alternative. In 2017, he passed the baseball agent exam by one point, then got to work on building a baseball practice. But he felt baseball wasn't enough, so he reached out to ITL's Neil Stratton, and, last summer, passed the NFLPA exam. A year later, he's already had his first active NFL player sign a UDFA deal, he's had a player drafted in the MLB Rule 5 Draft, and he's V.P. of Operations for AG Sports.
Active NFL clients:
Florida Tech WO Romell Guerrier signed an undrafted free agent deal with the Broncos this spring.
Why did he become an agent?: "
I always wanted to be an agent; I just took a roundabout way to get here. The agent I looked up to was Leigh Steinberg. I eventually would take practice exams administered by him as well as attending his seminars. Once I had success with those, it reassured me that this is what I wanted to do, and it is working out great."
Day job:
Vice President of Operations for AG Sports, and certified by both the NFL and MLB as a contract advisor.
His take on the NFLPA exam:
"The NFLPA exam was a lot easier the second time I took it. The first time I took the exam, the material ended up being a lot more thorough than the second time. I believe taking the exam for a second time benefited me because I had a good understanding of what the content was. The seminar does a great job explaining the content and there really were no curveballs. Utilizing Neil's servicethe second time around was critical because his explanations really helped me grasp the questions and answers of the exam."
Hardest part of being an agent:
"(Answering) the 'who do you have on your client roster?' (question). The exposure of a bigger firm entices athletes to sign with the firms more often than not."
He felt like he'd had a successful first year as a contract advisor when:
"I signed (MLB) Rule 5 draft pick WilsonGarcia and Romell Guerrier (with the Broncos) directly after the NFL draft. I also felt like it was a successful year because I felt like I was in on the right guys. I did not sign all of them this year, but I had a good gauge of what players were wanted by the NFL."
Lesson he learned that he wished he'd known last summer:
"Have more information on the training process for clients. Training fees can cost around $20,000 for pre-draft training at high-end training facilities. Luckily, I know (Orlando, Fla.-based trainer) Earnest Allen and I sent Romell Guerrier for six sessions, and he improved his 40 time from a 4.60 to a 4.45."
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