The 2009 NFL draft will be here shortly. Though for most players the college football season ended in late November, December or early January, another season started in early January for most aspiring draft eligible players. The combine training season started in early January as players prepped for the NFL combine and/or their schools’ pro-day. Many lawyers or agents who represent these players not only signed representation agreements with these players, but many entered into deals to supply the players with room and board and, most importantly, combine training and preparation. We would like to find how many of these training deals are in writing, what they provide, if the players have to pay anything back, and what happens if the lawyer or non-lawyer agent doesn’t get the player into a training camp or the player is cut in training camp.

Starting in the mid 1990’s, lawyer and non-lawyer agents began providing combine training to prospective rookies as both a recruiting tool and to help their clients perform better at their workouts for NFL scouts. Soon the costs began to escalate as top players sought the best training and lodging possible, and to play one lawyer or non-lawyer agent against another.

We’ll take a look at: how the current trend of the workout programs got started; how much emphasis a player places on selecting representation based on the workout program the agent offers him; and how many of these deals are in writing. Finally, if the agent is also a lawyer, we’ll look at any ethical considerations to be taken into account.

When most of the draft eligible players for the 2009 NFL draft began to meet with prospective lawyer and non-lawyer agents one of the first questions usually asked by the players was, “Where can you send me for training?”. In today’s market players are frequently sent to locations in Arizona, Florida, Georgia or California to a name a few. Some players may desire to train at their school with the help of the school’s strength and speed coach.



Typically, a player will spend six to eight weeks doing supervised training preparation for the combine or his pro day. These programs are the athletic equivalent of students preparing to take the SAT or LSAT. On the high end, the cost for training can be as much as $30,000.00 when you factor in lodging and meals for a player. For many agents the costs of supplying this combine preparation is prohibitive and makes representing some players a major gamble.

 *a large percentage of agents are lawyers, but some are not. Those agents who are lawyers are required to adhere to certain professional responsibility rules.

 Next time: we look at how these programs originated almost thirty years ago and the man responsible for starting them.