The Closing Rush

Good morning!

I wanted to reach out this morning for a couple reasons. No .1, I wanted to wish you.a Happy 4th! As someone who was around for the bicentennial, it's awesome to be here for 250, as well.

Second, I don't know if you saw this in the Friday Wrap or not, but in case you didn't, I wanted to resend it to you. Next week starts our "fourth quarter" as it relates to our exam prep. I don't want to leave you behind, so pardon this email if you're already tired of hearing from me.

Have a great Saturday and let me know if I can be of service.

Let’s get it on: If you’re taking the NFL Agent Exam later this month, you don’t need us to remind you that the big day is just over two weeks away. That means there’s no more procrastinating – it’s time to get ready by any means necessary. Naturally, we’re here to help. Next week, the final push begins as we roll out our final three big Zoom sessions before July 20 (remember, all participants also get the video for the session immediately after the Zoom wraps up). Let’s run down each of them in detail. 

Tuesday, July 7, 9 pm EDT ($50 plus tax): We started our monthly Zoom sessions in February and we now have five recordings to show for it, each of them led by Chicago-based NFL agent Ian Greengross as he’s covered the key testable topics in painstaking detail. We wrap things up Tuesday with a detailed discussion of substances of abuse: testing, sampling, the program, dates, participation, stages, discipline; alcohol; non-alcoholic substances of abuse; computation of fines, suspensions, other related issues; performance-enhancing drugs; unknowing ingestion of drugs; levels of punishment per violation; Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE); forfeitable salary allocations/forfeitable breach; and, finally, a benefits overview (benefits have become a major annual focus of the exam). 

Thursday, July 9, 8 pm EDT ($65 plus tax): It’s our annual Pressure Test, which has become one of the most popular sessions we offer at ITL. Here’s how it works. On Thursday afternoon, we’ll send you a link to a page on our website, Inside the League, which will provide 20 questions not found on our brand new practice exam application. Participants will work the problems for an hour, after which (at 9 pm EDT) Greengross will take to Zoom and answer all the problems, working them out or providing the correct responses for all 20. If you’re able to answer most (or even all) of the 20 questions in one hour, you can call yourself ready for the exam, which features 60 questions over a three-hour period. If not, you still have 10 days to sharpen your skills before the 20^th. We feel this regimen will do wonders for the confidence of prospective contract advisors; it’s a true “trial by fire” before the real bullets start flying. 

Saturday, July 18, 8 pm EDT ($80 plus tax): This is our two-hour review session, which has become a Saturday night tradition. Ian will cover not one, but two, previous exams. No, we won’t have the actual questions and answers, but we will have a detailed rundown of the topics covered and the subjects you need to know best. Ian will also answer questions of any stripe, so whatever topic has plagued you is fair game. We won’t get off the Zoom session until everyone has the tutoring needed for Monday’s examination. It’s the big finish to six months of painstaking preparation for the ITL new agent class, and we want to send everyone off with everything they need.

Speaking of needs – if you’ve been preparing for the test diligently over the past weeks and months, you might be running out of a basic need: money. We get it. That’s why, for the first time ever, we’re offering our final three critical Zoom sessions for one discounted price, $150 plus tax. That’s a savings of $45, or 25 percent. If we’re going to be serious about caring more about the success of our clients than about counting cash, we have to put our money where our mouth is. We figured the best way to do this was to create a discounted rate. 

Before we move on, we realize some people are still trying to get the basics down. For those people, maybe a rundown of our first five Zoom sessions (with topics covered and order links) is in order. Here goes: 

• February ($50 plus tax): Given a signing bonus and Year 4 cap number, calculate rookie salary; calculation of problems re: June 1 rule; and calculation of agent fees, including split between two agents after one has been terminated.
• March (($50 plus tax): Eligibility (accrued, credited for benefits, credited for salary) and free agency (Tenders, ROFR, exclusive rights free agency, restricted rights free agency, unrestricted free agency; transition tag, franchise/non-exclusive with terms, franchise/exclusive with terms); determining if a player has accrued a season, earned credit for benefits, earned credit for salary; deadline for payment (if cut on Tuesday, does he get paid?); split contracts; and termination pay.
• April ($50 plus tax): Veteran salary benefit (VSB); preseason split and in-season split, types of splits, definition, etc.; workman’s comp offsets; signals; Player Performance Escalator (PPE); and practice squad salaries. 
• May ($50 plus tax): Termination pay; injury grievance; injured reserve/designated for return; severance pay/calculation of retirement benefits.
• June ($50 plus tax): Fifth-year option; RFA tenders; reporting dates/calculating opening day of camp; offseason workout rules; five-day acclimation period.

One more thing. For more than 10 years, we’ve offered the finest resource on the market, our study guide, to test-takers. However, we’ve never really explained exactly what it is, what it provides, and how effective it is, based on the testimonials of people who’ve previously purchased it. That ends, however, with this week’s post at Succeed in Football. We not only have several tidbits about the guide, as well as the link to order it, but also comments from several users, past and present, on how comprehensive and effective it is.

At the end of the day, we are dedicated to helping our people pass the exam. Not finding what you need? Still not sure about what you can afford? Email nstratton@insidetheleague.com or just respond to the Wrap. We sincerely want to help and we’ll walk with you through our various materials and offerings. For 15 years, we’ve been devoted to our test-takers and we’re not stopping now. Please let us help.