Nov. 5-11
Next week, things get real for the XFL as it holds a two-day draft that will reconstitute rosters after being knocked out by Covid measures in 2020. Monday and Tuesday will see a media blitz that precedes Wednesday and Thursday, when the league’s eight teams will draft about 450 players. We’re excited about it, and we think you are, too. More football is always a good thing.
Thursday night, we hosted Senior VP of Player Personnel Doug Whaley and Senior Director of Player Administration and Officiating Operations Russ Giglio for a Zoom session with player representatives. The goal was to get all business-related questions answered before things get started next week.
For more than a half-hour, Doug and Russ fielded questions from ITL’s Neil Stratton as well as the dozens of agents participating. If you didn’t make it, but want to check out everything you missed, click here. In a bit of a hurry? Here are the key takeaways from last night’s session.
· The league has been aggressive about targeting young players. There are about 1,700 players in the draft pool, with a little over 700 from the 2022 draft class. There are just over 100 members from the 2021 draft class, and a little less than 300 from 2020.
· If there’s a deficit at any position, it’s at – stop us if you’ve heard this one before – offensive line. “They just don’t grow on trees,” Whaley said.
· If you’ve ever been in a fantasy draft, you’ll be familiar with the draft order, which will be determined via lottery. From there, it will be a “snake draft,” first to last, then last to first.
· The draft won’t be broadcast, but draft enthusiasts can follow along at XFL.com. There will also be brief video cut-ins during ESPN’s programming Wednesday and Thursday. The draft will begin at noon ET and run all day and perhaps into the evening Wednesday, followed by another long day Thursday. Teams will gather at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
· Draftees have until Dec. 26 to commit to the league by signing a contract.
· There will be trades, as well as a trade deadline.
· Every team has a head coach, 10 assistants and a personnel director.
· Players arrive Jan. 8, followed by a week of acclimation and on-boarding. This will be followed by a “jamboree” during camp in Arlington, tentatively scheduled for the last weekend in January. Every team will play a half during the jamboree, but there will also be collaborative practices during camp.
· Each team will have a 50-man roster, activating 45 for game day.
· There will be periodic workouts in-season to add to the draft pool and give teams more players to add in case of injuries. These will be, tentatively, every two weeks during the season, and will be held in Arlington, Texas.
· Player pay is as follows: $5000/game, active roster; $1,000 win bonus for players on active roster and practice squad; $1,500/week, practice squad; $800/wk for training camp. Total value of the deal for a player who is active all season and whose team wins about half its games is $59,000. There are also playoff bonuses of more than $10,000 for winners of the championship and about $8000 for those who win in the first round of the playoffs. Meals and residence can also be covered if the player so chooses.
· Players will be contacted by a team staff member upon selection. They’ll be drafted in five positional groups (offensive line, offensive skill position, defensive backfield and front seven, plus specialists), with 11 picks per grouping followed by an open portion at the end of the draft. Teams will finish with about 60 players on their respective rosters at the end of the draft.
· Contracts and forms tendered to players will also be tendered to their listed contract advisors.
· The player pool is locked for next week’s draft. However, next week’s event will be followed up by a supplemental draft in January (about 75 players are expected to be drafted then). This draft will include players who’ve been added to the player pool since next week’s draft (as well as those in the pool who go undrafted next week). Some of them will be additions from the third and fourth sessions of the NFL Alumni Academy. Others will be players who were initially hesitant to enter the XFL pool as they pursued NFL opportunities, or who’ve been released by NFL or CFL teams.
The QB procurement process will be discussed in detail next week. Also, on Tuesday, there will be a “quarterback release show,” with excerpts broadcast on ESPN.
More information will be released Monday in a formal media release presented by the league.
We’re excited about the new league, and we hope you are, too. We’re fans of any credible league and the opportunities for coaching, scouting and playing that come along with them. Next week, we’ll be following pick by pick, and we’ll review it all in the pages of ITL.
Less than a week to go! In the meantime, here’s a look at what else we saw, heard, read and said about the business of college and pro football this week.
Catching Up: Marv Sunderland, 78, scouted in the NFL for a year short of four decades. He’s facing some medical challenges, so we reached out to his son, Brock (a scout in his own right), about what he’s up to these days.
· Where is Marv living and what is he doing these days? “He is fully retired and living in Missoula, Mont.”
· Do you feel scouting is something that was a highlight in his career? It is something he enjoyed? “He didn't just enjoy it; he loved it and always told me he never felt like he was working. It didn't feel like a job to him. . . it was his passion and he always enjoyed being with all the other scouts on the road for school calls, scouting games live, and attending pro days in the spring. All the friendships, travels, and memories made are things he still talks about. His highlight was winning the NFC Championship as the Director of Player Personnel for the NY Giants after the '00 season to head to the Super Bowl.”
· Since he retired, has he maintained his relationships with his former colleagues? “Yes, several lifelong friends. I'm sure I'm leaving out several, but some that he's kept in touch with are Mike Hickey, James Hasty (a former NFL player), Phil Neri, Ken Herock, Joe Collins, Ernie Accorsi, Kent McCloughan, Mike Ackerley, Dave Gettleman, Ray Biggs and Tim Ruskell.”
· Growing up, how did your father influence you positively to be a scout? “I inherited the love of football and evaluating players from him. I'd tag along with him to the New York Jets training camps while I was growing up and I'd also go on the road with him to games and pro days on occasion. I was just having fun being around football, the game day environments, and seeing NFL players up close. I was learning how to be a scout without realizing it.”
· Are there players that you and your dad both scouted that went on to NFL success? “Oh yes, too many to count. Some of the more recognizable players we both saw while scouting in the NFL and covering the west at the same time are Marcus Trufant, Nick Foles, Bobby Wagner, Zach Ertz, Robert Woods, Kyle Long, Andrew Luck and Matt Kalil, to name a few. Some of my best memories are doing school calls and attending pro days with him while he was with the Titans and I was with the Jets.”
Review the latest from other former NFL scouts and executives by accessing our Catching Up archive here. Want to hear from a former scout, or know someone who may be interested in being interviewed? Let us know.
College Coaching Changes Grid: This week, with seven coaches having been fired at the NCAA level, we launched our big board for the 2022-23 offseason. Our list includes school, deposed head coach, when that coach was hired, the search firm involved (if any) with finding the next coach, the school’s athletic director and when he was hired, and the new coach or interim coach in place, as well as his agency. Check it out here.
· From Alex: We learned that you’re probably gonna get lots of calls from NFL hopefuls seeking representation. However, if your name is early in the alphabet, and if you’re based in a strong football city (like Alex is), you’re probably going to get even more calls. We also learned that it’s helpful to have a connection at a school who can help educate you on a player before you sign him.
· From George: We learned that it pays to know where to look and who to look at; the key word here is “scarcity,” both when it comes to the prospect’s position as well as the number of competing contract advisors. It also doesn’t hurt to work the NFL connections your client has when it comes to his coaches.
· From Rasheeda (who graciously spent double the time allotted answering questions): We learned that Draft Day can be a very, very sad day for those who don’t get any calls, which is especially true if you sign multiple clients. We also learned that building a network of scouts requires an all-out, aggressive, non-stop approach (as well as a fair amount of cunning and guile).
We are very grateful to all three of them. We’ll have more experienced people discussing the industry in our three remaining Zoom sessions before the end of the year. Look for our next session sometime before Thanksgiving, and our final two to follow in December. Our sessions are very popular (“These sessions are excellent, really enjoyed last night,” said one participant), but did we also mention that all our sessions are free? If you’re an ITL client, that is. If you’re not with us yet, come join us before our next meet-up.
“Hey, do you guys do scouting reports?:” Why, yes we do. Former Titans Director of College Scouting Blake Beddingfield has written scouting reports on request since 2018 (and almost exclusively for ITL since 2019). Most of them are requested by agents trying to decide if they should sign the players they’re recruiting, but sometimes requests come from schools, parents, coaches or others. All we need is a name, position and school, and we do the rest. For $100 plus tax ($108.25), we can get most reports done in about 48 hours. All reports come with a list of strengths and weaknesses, plus an outlook for the player’s future and a round projection. Need to see a sample first? Email us and we’ll be happy to send several along. Ready to order? Reach out today and we’ll get started.
Rep Rumblings: This week, in our three reports, we saw more changes on the coaching front, both at the pro and college level, and the top two all-star games’ first wave of invitees.
· Wednesday: We sorted through the first big batch of invitees to the Shrine and Senior Bowls, plus we checked in on the invitation progress with one other established game. We also had a quick look at the XFL player pool numbers and we looked at representation rumors for one of the top prospects in the ’23 draft.
We’ve got lots and lots of info you need in our Rep Rumblings, and you can access all of them here.
Next week: Thanksgiving (and the kickoff to the offseason) is on the horizon, but we still have work to do before sitting down to eat.
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We’ll dive into the front offices of the Rams, Ravens, Commanders, Saints and Seahawks as we continue our Know Your Scouts series.
· Will there be a Zoom session this week for new agents? That’s also TBA. What we know today is that our next session will go in-depth on agent costs and finances. We’ll also offer solutions on how to combat budgetary issues. Also ahead – sessions on how to select a trainer and how all-star games work. Stay tuned.
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We’re nearing the 2023 ITL Signings Grid, one of our most popular annual features. However, we’re not quite there yet. Until we are, we’ll continue to note all the all-star invitations and other related buzz in our Rep Rumblings.
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There will also be notes related to late-breaking scouting promotions, reassignments and even terminations. They’ll also go in our Rumblings, as well as in our Scouting Changes Grid.
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Naturally, we’ll be looking at the XFL Draft and sifting out all the notes and interesting angles and pumping them into our Rep Rumblings. Whatever doesn’t fit will likely show up on our Succeed in Football blog.
There will certainly be more, we have no doubt, but that’s the sketch of what’s ahead. You’re not gonna want to miss any of it, and you don’t have to if you’re part of our team.
