Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward is likely to land a four-year contract worth more than $40 million if he’s selected as the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft April 24. But he still hasn’t made a final decision on whether he needs a certified agent to represent him in contract negotiations with the NFL team that picks him.
Ward instead might go without a traditional agent, just like quarterback Caleb Williams did last year when he was picked No. 1 overall by the Chicago Bears.
“He’s still evaluating,” Ward’s father, Calvin, told USA TODAY Sports March 25.
Another top quarterback prospect, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, doesn’t have a certified agent, either, according to the NFL Players Association. Neither does his brother Shilo, an NFL safety prospect. Their father, “Coach Prime” Deion Sanders, provides plenty of pre-draft advice instead.
“They asked me if I have an agent,” Shilo Sanders said before the East-West Shrine Bowl in January. “I don’t even know if I have an agent or not. I just tell them it’s Coach Prime.”
Out of more than 2,000 players in the NFL, only 29 don’t have a certified agent to represent them in contract negotiations with NFL teams, not including draft prospects, according to the NFLPA.
That’s quite a rarity – less than 1.5% − but it might not be for long, at least among some elite NFL draft prospects. Last year, two top-five NFL draft picks also elected not to hire certified agents: Williams and Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who was instead guided in the pre-draft process by his father.
So does this mean that traditional player agents are a dying breed?
No, but times are changing, according to legendary player agent Leigh Steinberg. Not all players need an agent to “show them the money” or provide pre-draft advice anymore, like they did when Steinberg served as the inspiration for “Jerry Maguire,” the 1996 movie about a fictional sports agent.
“I’m glad I’ve already represented 64 first-round draft picks − and the first pick in the first round eight different years − if this is a trend,” Steinberg told USA TODAY Sports.
The pros and cons of not having an agent
Agents can charge up to 3% of an NFL player’s contract for their services. That could save some players millions of dollars if they go it alone, but there are risks to the tradeoff, too, especially for players who aren’t elite prospects or don’t have Pro Football Hall of Fame fathers to guide them before the draft like the Sanders brothers or Harrison Jr.
A big change to the draft scene in recent years is that college players have been allowed to make money from their names, images and likenesses (NIL) before turning pro in the NFL. Elite draft prospects like Shedeur Sanders and Ward therefore already have made a lot of money in college before the draft and don’t need pre-draft per diems and training resources from their agents, as they often did before the NCAA allowed players to get NIL money for the first time in 2021.
“That’s the first distinction that we’re in a new era, where we have players who have made a considerable amount of money while they’re still in college, who can take care of the financial responsibilities of the draft,” said Steinberg, whose clients have included star NFL quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes, Troy Aikman and Steve Young.
Steinberg said an agent’s investment in a player before the draft could be around $35,000, including per diem and other services such as training provisions. “Obviously, Caleb Williams didn’t need that,” Steinberg said of last year’s No. 1 overall pick.
Some, like the Sanders brothers, also already have had managers to represent them with NIL deals in college. But that’s still different from having a certified NFL agent to advise them and represent them in contract negotiations. Not having one can mean not having the vast network of connections and negotiating expertise that a certified agent can bring.
And this can mean a lot more to fringe draft prospects than quarterbacks projected to be selected in the top five.
Rookie contracts are largely slotted
Players are not required to have traditional agents. But if they don’t want to negotiate an NFL contract by themselves and instead hire somebody to do that for them, those hired agents must be certified by the NFLPA – a designation that requires an undergraduate and postgraduate degree or proof of at least seven years of “sufficient negotiating experience,” among other requirements.
That doesn’t prevent a player from taking advice from their dads or others. It just covers contract negotiations. And there’s not that much to negotiate in an NFL player’s rookie contract, anyway.
That’s because the compensation amounts for rookies are essentially slotted by where a player is selected in the seven-round draft. Last year, the Bears gave Williams a four-year contract worth $39.5 million as the No. 1 overall pick. This year, the No. 1 overall pick will make a little more than that. Same for the No. 2 pick compared to last year and so on.
But it gets much more complicated and negotiable with a player’s next contract down the road. Ask Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who didn’t have an agent when he was drafted in 2018 and also went without an agent before his last contract in 2023.
He described the latter negotiating process as “nail-biting” with “a lot of head-scratching going on” before he ultimately landed a five-year, $260-million deal that made him the highest-paid player on average at the time.
Was it worth the 3% he saved by not having an agent?
It’s easy to think so after getting a contract like that. On the other hand, the vast majority of NFL players aren’t huge stars out of college and don’t become NFL MVPs like Jackson did. Many still hire traditional agents for a reason – often because those agents offer more “holistic” services besides NFL contract negotiations.
For example, Colorado Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter hired the Young Money APAA Sports agency, headed by certified agent Adie von Gontard. That firm, co-founded by rapper Lil Wayne, said it offers a “comprehensive suite of services,” including contract negotiations, legal support and career guidance.
Hunter is expected to be a top-five draft pick. On the other end of the rookie spectrum, players who aren’t drafted also benefit from having an agent who can help them find the best place to sign as an undrafted free agent when multiple teams are interested.
“For a lot of NFL (rookies), it’s a non-issue and it’s actually leaning toward smart” to not have an agent, said former Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley.
The stakes are different for undrafted free agents and veteran NFL players pursuing their next contract.
“That’s when you really need an agent,” said Whaley, now working in player personnel with the United Football League.
‘Trust factor’ and relationships
Shilo Sanders is an example of a prospect who might not get drafted but could be in high demand as an undrafted free agent. If he’s not drafted, who will field those calls from teams and help him determine which team is best for him after the draft?
That’s normally the job of a traditional agent. In his case, his father could help him navigate that to an extent if he doesn’t hire a certified agent.
Steinberg cited one of his clients as another example: NFL running back Jeff Wilson. After Wilson went undrafted in 2018, Steinberg discussed him with San Francisco 49ers executive John Lynch, another one of Steinberg’s former clients. Wilson ended up signing with the 49ers and playing parts of five seasons with the team before moving on to play with the Miami Dolphins.
“There’s a trust factor there,” Steinberg said.
It’s based on relationships and advocacy for clients. For example, Steinberg represented Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon during his entire pro career. Same with Aikman and Young.
“Being able to negotiate a veteran contract does take a fair amount of expertise, as distinguished from a rookie negotiation,” Steinberg said. “Most players would rather have a mentor and partner at their side from the beginning who will be with them for their whole career.”
Not about the money
The Sanders family couldn’t be reached for comment about their decision. In Ward’s case, his father has a business background and said he once was an agent himself.
The agent issue also is nothing new to the Ward family because Cam Ward previously considered turning pro before now.
“We’ve been talking about it for years,” Calvin Ward said.
And it’s not about money, he said.
“It doesn’t have anything to do with that,” Calvin Ward said. “Both (choices) have their advantages, and there’s some disadvantages. He’s so laser-focused on football, but he knows my business background at the same time, too. It’s not something he’s concerned with that he might miss out on.”
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com