NFLPA Agent Certification Process

With my current education coming to an end, my next focus will be on the NFL agent certification process. The process begins by applicants sending a lengthy application to the NFL Players’ Association in January to become a Contract Advisor in the NFL. An application fee of $2,500 must also accompany this application. After the application and fee have been received by the NFLPA, a background check is performed to verify the information on the application as well as determine if any applicants have criminal records or are in financial distress. Since agents represent clients with significant incomes and often offer financial consulting to their clients, having criminal records and financial troubles are important for the NFLPA to consider when allowing agents to represent its players.

Once the NFLPA determines an applicant may become an agent, it distributes exam materials to the applicants to sit for a mandatory certification exam at the annual New Agent Seminar held in Washington D.C. in July. If an applicant fails, they must wait an entire year to sit for the exam again causing them to miss an entire recruiting season. For agents who pass the exam, they must wait for notification from the NFLPA before recruiting players and obtain professional liability insurance from an approved carrier.

Once certified, all agents must register as an athlete agent in any state they wish to recruit players. This can become a tedious and expensive process as many states have differing applications and mandatory fees. However, states have progressively been making this process easier and cheaper for those who are already registered in other states. Finally, agents must (or at least should) reach out to each individual school’s athletic department they wish to recruit at. This process is much more manageable than registering in each state. Athletic departments often facilitate initial contact between agents and recruits. This phase of the process is ideal but many unscrupulous agents try to forgo this process and deal directly with the recruits and their parents. Once the certification process is complete, a new agent will join the 800 other certified agents and the fun can begin!