Neil's brief primer: Bertram earned his bachelor's degree in 2011 and his master's degree in 2012, both from the University of Florida, where he was a student manager for the football team from 2009-2012. He has been watching football since the age of 5. After being an ITL subscriber for a full year, he took the agent exam and passed it last summer.

 

Active NFL clients: Southern Miss TE Julian Allen signed with the Browns as a UDFA after a mini-camp tryout.

 

Why did he become an agent?: "I always loved numbers and the game of football. I knew the NFL wasn't an option, so I focused on being an agent. I aspired to be like Eugene Parker. I enjoy the "process" throughout the year. From minicamp, OTAs, the season, pre-draft. It's a constant rush. I literally watch film every day."

 

Day job: Claims adjuster for All-State Insurance in Miami.

 

His take on the NFLPA exam: "I'm well-versed on the business of the NFL, so the exam was like a review. Nothing stumped me. Now, ITL's practice exam is highly recommended. You will get examples that will almost mirror those on the exam, especially those with heavy wording."

 

Hardest part of being an agent: "Managing expectations of what's valuable information and what's not. A kid can look online and see that he's a 'first-round pick' by Joe Smith working at football.com. The kid doesn't go first round, and you're the reason to blame. It's like when the information is good, it's true, and when it's bad, it's false. Social media has about 200 'can't-miss' first-round draft picks every year."

 

He felt like he'd had a successful first year as a contract advisor when . . .: " Julian Allen was signed by the Browns. He had to go out and perform, so I can't take that from him at all. The process of dealing with UDFAs is much harder and requires a lot more homework. But just to be involved with the process from pre-draft training until the pen hit the paper was magical."

 

Lesson he learned that he wished he's known before he got certified: "It may sound crazy, but nothing. Me and my brother, Hygens Succes, the hardest-working person I know, knew what the agent game entailed. The only difference is that we had never experienced it. We experienced almost everything imaginable in Year 1. It's probably the best thing to ever happen to us. We learned valuable lessons."