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Neil's brief primer:
Cally earned her law degree from the University of Florida in 1988 and is licensed to practice law in Florida and California. She lives in Tampa and has loved football since she began watching it with her father when she was young. Last year, she was inspired by a friend who plays in the NFL to become a certified contract advisor. She was certified in fall 2017.
Active NFL clients:
Southeastern DC Mark Myers signed with the Buccaneers after a minicamp tryout.
Why did she become an agent?:
"For the past 10 years, I have been mentoring high school students through a few non-profits in Tampa. It's been the most gratifying thing I've ever done. Being an agent allows me to help young men trying to play professional football navigate their way through the process of making a team. Once my clients are signed to a team, I can use my 30 years of legal experience to protect their interests and capitalize on the various financial opportunities being a professional athlete affords them."
Day job:
Retired attorney who specialized in personal injury and business law. Now focused solely on being an agent.
Her take on the NFLPA exam: "
It was challenging and you definitely need to study for it. I took ITL's practice exam beforehand and the questions prepared me for the types and complexities of questions that were on the exam. Like others have said, pay attention during the seminar and take notes so you can refer back to them during the exam if needed. There are definitely questions from the seminar on the exam."
Hardest part of being an agent:
"Learning the business is difficult because I don't have any big agencies in Tampa to try to work with. I subscribed to ITL's newsletter right after I passed the exam and it's been very helpful as far as providing valuable, detailed information about the business. Also, I was fortunate to meet Neil Stratton in January at the Tropical Bowl and he's been very kind in answering my questions and helping me in any way he can. He's a gold mine of knowledge!"
She felt like she'd had a successful first year as a contract advisor when . . .:
"I signed my first client to an NFL team on Mother's Day! It was definitely a sign that I made the right decision."
Lesson she learned that she wished she'd known before she got certified:
"I wish I knew that the material on the test was so comprehensive because I waited until late June to start studying. Once I started looking over the materials I realized I needed to shut everything else down and focus. If I had started earlier, I wouldn't have had to cram everything into three weeks. Also, I didn't learn about ITL's practice exam until a few days before the exam. If you subscribe and get the practice questions well in advance, it will definitely help you narrow down the areas of the CBA and other materials to focus on. ITL's practice questions were very similar to the questions on the exam."
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Neil Stratton
