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Neil's brief primer:
Bryan played quarterback at Newberry College before transferring to Texas A&M-Kingsville to pursue an MBA while serving as the Javelinas' signal-caller. When his playing career came to an end, he knew he wanted to stay in sports, but didn't know exactly what he wanted to do. A firm believer in customer service and being attentive with clients, he thought his skills would translate to the agent world, so he got certified last summer.
Active NFL clients:
Though his agency didn't have anyone drafted, several signed as undrafted free agents after the draft.Central Arkansas FS George Odum signed with the Colts; Tulsa OC Willie  Wright signed with the Browns; Ohio State OG Demetrius Knox signed with the Seahawks; North Texas DC Kemon Hall signed with the Chargers; Central Connecticut QB Jake Dolegala landed with the Bengals; Troy WO Damion Willis signed with the Bengals; Buffalo OC James O'Hagan with the Bills; and Eastern Michigan DE Jerry Harris signed with the Giants. It was the biggest UDFA haul by any rookie agent in the 2018 class.
Why did he become an agent?:
"I really didn't know what direction to go within sports, and my family really pushed me to the business side of sports and to become an agent. I ended up getting certified and I linked up with my partner, Matt Glose, who is our President at Priority Athletes. But, my family was the biggest influence on me becoming an agent."
Day job:
CEO of Priority Athletes.
His take on the NFLPA exam:
"The NFLPA exam was tough but fair. There were only three questions I had no idea on. This is a credit to the service that Neil provides with ITL. I don't know how I would have passed the exam without using Neil's prep service. I don't know how people pass the exam without using the prep service with the way the test is worded. The exam would have been a lot more challenging without ITL and would have meant studying for a longer period of time."
Hardest part of being an agent: "
The whole industry is dark. Everything is done behind the scenes. You don't know which agents are recruiting what players. Nobody really helps you out within the industry because everyone views everyone as competition. The other challenging part is the money aspect of being an agent. For example, training for clients at facilities such as EXOS is extremely expensive.
He felt like he'd had a successful first year as a contract advisor when:
". . . our clients had a good amount of top-30 visits. We had one client have four top-30 visits and another client with five top-30 visits.
Lesson he learned that he wished he'd known last summer:
"Go into each prospect with a broad spectrum. What I mean by this is to learn the family dynamics of each prospect and who is the decision-maker within the family. I have signed clients where I only talk to the athlete, and clients where I only talk to the parents. As the agent, you just need to know that every family is different, so finding out the decision-maker in each family is crucial to success."
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Neil Stratton
