Financial Advisor: Role on a Pro Athletes Team

By Justin VanFulpen

The new show “Ballers” on HBO depicts Dwayne Johnson as Spencer Strasmore, a retired athlete turned financial advisor. If you have been watching the show, you have seen that financial advisors have a large role in a professional football player career just like their agent does.  College Football players are recruited just as much by financial advisors as they are by agents.

Financial Advisors are a very valuable asset to a professional athlete’s career and can help an athlete take his earning during his playing career and set him up for the rest of his life and his career after football.  Since professional athlete earnings situation as well as their taxes is different than normal situations they need someone on their team who can advise them in the right direction in all aspects of their financial wellbeing.   Players need to pay attention just as much as who they select to be their financial advisor as they do who their agent is, if not more since they will be dealing with their money and assets.

Forbes recently wrote an article “How To Select A Financial Advisor”

One thing to find out about a potential financial advisor is he/she a broker/ registered rep; or an investment advisor?  When looking at compensation for the financial advisor services a broker may charge commissions or fees. An investment advisor will be fee-only or fee for advice.  You can check out the article to see what the differences are.

Some other great questions to ask the potential financial advisors are:

Does the advisor work for a large firm or is he independent?

Does the advisor receive sales commissions, fees, or both?

Does the advisor have experience with the specific issues concerning the client?

Does the advisor have any past or current legal infractions?

With a financial advisor being part of a professional athlete team, time and care is need to make the right choice.

TREVOR SIEMIAN JOURNEY TO THE NFL

TSDBSigningBy Rick SerritellaGuest Writer 

Everything came crashing down on November 22, 2014 in West Lafayette, Indiana against Purdue just a week after Northwestern and Trevor Siemian had beat Notre Dame in upset, Siemian had tore his left ACL and him and many people thought maybe his football career was over.

What was looking like a breakout senior season that would help boost his NFL Draft stock, all of sudden ended in a single play with a pop. Suddenly, the agents stopped calling. How many teams would want to invest a draft pick on a quarterback rehabbing from a major injury? When the phone went silent, there was still one agent who showed a tremendous amount of interest in representing Siemian.

For college football players who have the talent to play at the next level, they will hear from numerous agents wishing to represent them, beginning in the summer and throughout the football season. Just like the recruiting process of selecting a school to play for, they must now weigh their options and determine which agent will provide the best opportunity for their professional career.

Early on in the process, Siemian was contacted by Justin VanFulpen, an agent for Summit Sports, about the possibility of representation. There were some texts back and forth about the process and what type of strategy would be implemented and then communication tailed off, leaving VanFulpen wondering if Siemian would even be a client. The college football season was winding down in December, when VanFulpen received a phone call from the father of Trevor Siemian asking if he was still interested in representing his son. A few conversations later Siemian, along with the advice of his family chose VanFulpen to represent him.

The next steps were to implement a plan of attack that not only would help Siemian receive world class training and rehabilitation but also the blueprint for how to maximize his exposure to NFL teams, while rehabbing from the ACL injury. On a Saturday afternoon in January, Siemian and VanFulpen met at a local restaurant near the Northwestern campus for several hours to hash out the details.

Once the plan of attack was established, it was up to VanFulpen to deliver for his client to ensure every step of the process would be handled with great care and executed with precise attention to detail.

Due to the nature of his situation surrounding the injury, Siemian was just six weeks into the rehabilitation process and required a more personalized training regime. The next step required VanFulpen determining the best place for Siemian to train leading up to the 2015 NFL Draft.  Siemian had torn his left ACL in his knee and it would take at least six months to heal and would have to get cleared by the doctor that did the surgery as well as any team doctor in the NFL, before they would like him back on the field to compete.

In February, VanFulpen would travel to Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine to meet with renowned NFL Trainer Brian Martin, who has prepped hundreds of players with his football combine training program. Not only would Siemian speak with Martin but his new company, Parabolic Performance and Rehab in New Jersey was also staffed with some of the premier doctors in the state.

After the initial dialogue with Martin in Indianapolis, VanFulpen was certain that Parabolic Performance & Rehab was the best option for Siemian’s training. Not only would he receive personalized one-on-one training with quarterback guru Jay Fiedler but Siemian would also be tended to by the doctors on a daily basis, a unique business model in the combine prep training industry and a first of its kind. Next, VanFulpen arranged a phone call from Indianapolis for Siemian to speak with Martin and his team of doctors. It was unanimous, Parabolic Performance & Rehab would be their training facility of choice.

Since Siemian wasn’t a household name to the mainstream media, VanFulpen began tapping into his media connections in order to help get Siemian additional exposure. In addition to coming off an injury, Siemian was not one of the 15 quarterbacks chosen for the combine. It was beneficial to help get Siemian’s name and his story out to the masses as much as possible. Soon, a google search typing in ‘Trevor Siemian NFL Draft’ would net over 25,000 results.

Before leaving for Parabolic and training Siemian and VanFulpen made the decision that it would be a good thing for Siemian to go Northwestern Pro Day on Tuesday, March 3rd even if he couldn’t do any throwing or anything at all to see the NFL scouts that would be there and let them know about the plan and also to support his teammates as they went thru the process.

During the training process, VanFulpen would keep all 32 NFL teams abreast of the progress Siemian was making, which included scanning and emailing over the latest medical reports and progress evaluations. In March, VanFulpen would receive a phone call from Matt Russell, the Denver Broncos Director of Player Personal. Russell expressed the interest that the Broncos had in Siemian and wanted to fly him in for one of their Top 30 visits. Each NFL team can bring in only 30 prospects to their team facility to meet with their coaches, doctors, front office staff and scouts.  To make things work with everyone schedule on April 2nd Siemian flew from Parabolic in New Jersey, to Denver and they back to Chicago the same day.

Siemian was invited to the Chicago Bears local workout on Wednesday, April 7th where he went and just was able to throw three and five-step drops for the Bears scouts to see.

On April 8th the night before his April 9th throwing day at Northwestern, Siemian would have dinner with Broncos quarterback coach Greg Knapp, an inkling that there could be serious interest from the organization.

While Siemian was not yet cleared by doctors to do a full workout for NFL teams, VanFulpen coordinated a throwing session for scouts and executives, so that they could see the progress made since the injury. Unable to roll out due to the rehab process, Siemian would put his arm on display with a workout that included about 60 throws and involved three-step, five-step and seven-step straight back drops. The Green Bay Packers, Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Titans would all be in attendance for the workout but there was one familiar face in the crowd who stood out, the Broncos Greg Knapp. Following the workout, Siemian and VanFulpen went to lunch to discuss what to expect over the course of the next month leading up to the draft, which was being held nearby Siemian’s alma mater in Chicago.

The workout generated more interest from teams around the league. The Cleveland Browns were next to call and fly Siemian in for one of their top 30 visits. The Browns also had legitimate interest, meeting with Siemian for two days on April 19th and 20th, the following day on the 21st, Cleveland quarterback coach Kevin O’Connell and offensive coordinator John DeFilippo would put him through a private workout.

Because of the interest VanFulpen was able to set up multiple interviews and stories with outlets like The Sports News, CBS Sports, NFL.com, and more to help push Siemian name and story.

As word spread around the league, Siemian’s draft stock was skyrocketing at the ultimate time. With just two week’s to go leading up to the draft, VanFulpen was receiving phone calls from teams on a daily basis. It was his belief heading into the draft that if there were six quarterbacks selected by round five, that Siemian would have a strong chance of being selected, information which he would share with his client.

All the hard work had been done. Siemian had maximized the most of his exposure, despite being limited by the injury. VanFulpen at this point had spoken with every NFL team in regards to his client. It was now time to sit back and watch how the 2015 NFL Draft, held April 30th thru May 2nd would unfold.

On day one of the three-day event, Thursday, the two quarterbacks selected number one and number two overall were the talk of the draft. Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota were off the board and there was talk near the end of round one that the Saints were contemplating a quarterback but did not actually come to fruition.

On Friday, the NFL would conduct rounds two and three. There wasn’t a real sense that Siemian would be drafted that day but Siemian and VanFulpen would watch in anticipation to see how many quarterbacks would be gone entering day three. Much to their dismay, just two more quarterbacks were selected, bring the total to four, through the first three rounds.

The final day, Saturday, would hold the fate of Siemian’s future, as rounds four through seven would be completed. Whether his was to hear his name called during the late rounds or sign as an undrafted rookie free agent, Siemian would know which city he would be locating to begin his NFL journey.

The way the draft was unfolding, Siemian and VanFulpen could expect the unexpected. Many of the draft pundits had signal-callers Bryce Petty and Brett Hundley rated as early round prospects. They would not come off the board until round four, when the Saints finally decided to use one of their picks on a quarterback with Petty and round five, with Hundley landing with the Packers 147th overall. The sixth round would pass by without a single quarterback being taken.

Siemian had received a text earlier that morning from Cleveland stating that they were going to find a way to make him a member of the Browns. Early in the seventh round, VanFulpen’s phone would ring—It was a number he did not recognize.

It was Brian Starks and area scouts from the Denver Broncos on the line expressing interest to potentially bring Siemian in as an undrafted rookie free agent. Preparation is the key to success and VanFulpen was quick to inform them that other teams had expressed interest in Siemian. He also knew that Denver held three picks at the end of round seven, which he was wise to pint out, suggesting that the team should consider using one of those selections to ensure Siemian was a Bronco. The conversation concludes with no sure commitment that Denver would select Siemian. It would be up to general manager John Elway, a Hall of Fame quarterback in his own right, to decide.

Following the dialogue with Denver, VanFulpen turned his attention to his client and discussed options with Siemian and his family should he not get drafted. They all agree that Denver is the best landing spot but wait and see how the remainder of the draft would unfold.

It was pick number 249 and Denver would be on the clock next with the first of their three selections in the seventh round. Having an inkling that Siemian could be selected here, VanFulpen turns the dial to ESPN for their draft coverage. As he awaits the pick, he looks down at his phone and starts receiving congratulations texts, as he switches over to NFL Network, they are running Northwestern highlights of Siemian. With the 250th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, Siemian had been selected by the Denver Broncos! Knowing that this was the scenario everyone in their circle wanted the entire time, VanFulpen high-fives his brother with excitement and joy!

The process was over and the journey was finally complete. Reaction poured in from social media and news outlets were stunned at how the seventh quarterback drafted was one coming off a torn ACL, did not receive an invitation to any of the prestigious all-star games or the NFL Scouting Combine…how did it happen they wondered in amazement? To sum it up simply, in two words, hard work!

NFL Draft: NFL Combine/Pro Day Training

By Justin VanFulpen

In the past 20 years since Mike Mamula’s 1995 NFL Combine, training for the NFL Combine has become a big business.  There are hundreds of places that say they do NFL Combine training and now training facilities recruit like agents.  But do you need to go to a big training facility to be successful in the NFL draft the answer is NO.

If we look at this year’s draft two of the top five players drafted WR Amari Cooper, Alabama (Drafted by the Raiders 4th overall) and OT Brandon Scherff, Iowa (Drafted by the Redskins 5th overall) both trained at school.  Also Bud Dupree, Kentucky the 22nd overall pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers trained at school.

17 players that where drafted in the 2015 NFL Draft trained at school.   There are different factors that need to be looked at when making a decision where to training for the NFL Combine or your Pro Day.  A few of them are:

Location – Everyone loves the sun and warm weather but remember where the NFL Combine is located at.  It is in Indianapolis, Indiana in late February.  I have been in the NFL combine for the past 15 years it is never warm and sunny.  Also think about where you go to school since that is where your Pro Day is at.  Players in the past have gone away to train in warm weather and then haven’t performed as well as they wanted to in Indy or at their school Pro Day since the weather was complete different.

Personal Attention – How many guys will you be training with? Will there be 50 guys training with you and if so how much work on technique will there be done. If you are going somewhere other the school most likely you or someone else is paying that trainer, so that trainer gets paid no matter if you get drafted or don’t so just need to make sure they have your best interest in mind as well.

Position Specific Training – Who is working with you to get better at your position? Will there be anyone that played or coached your position before?

Medical/Rehab – After every football season everyone body is banged up or have some type of injury could be major or minor but need to have a place that will take that into consideration.

Familiar Surrounding – Depending on your bowl game/playoffs as well as getting invited to an all-star game you won’t have a lot of time to get settled into your routine before the NFL combine so that is something to take into consideration.

Your Individual Plan – Some guys don’t take a lot of this into consideration and just default into whatever work for past teams or what they feel is a “big” name training facility.  But you need to remember that everyone is different.

But when you get to training for the combine or your Pro Day 80% of your grade has already be decided with what you did on the field.  Because as everyone knows the eye in the sky doesn’t lie when it comes to film.

In any type of training the biggest thing is you are going get out what you put in.

The NFL Draft is not made up just from the Power 5 Conferences

By Justin VanFulpen

A lot of people believe that the NFL Draft is made up of the Power 5 college football conferences (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, SEC & Pac-12) in college football but that is not totally the case.  If we take a look at the past 4 NFL Draft we see that there are a good amount of draft picks that come from other levels of college football.

2015 NFL Draft (256 picks):

56 Draft picks Non-Power 5 (21.8%)

20 of those 56 Non-FBS

Baltimore Ravens WR Breshad Perriman, UCF – 1st round 26th overall pick was the earliest Non-Power 5 pick.

San Francisco 49ers S Jaquiski Tartt, Samford – 2nd round 46th overall pick was the earliest Non-FBS pick.

2014 NFL Draft (256 picks):

84 Draft picks Non-Power 5 (32.8%)

24 of those 84 Non-FBS

Jacksonville Jaguars QB Blake Bortles, UCF – 1st round 3 pick overall was the earliest Non-Power 5 pick.

New England Patriots QB Jimmy Garoppolo, Eastern Illinois – 2nd round 62nd overall was the earliest Non-FBS pick.

2013 NFL Draft (254 picks):

88 Draft picks Non-Power 5 (34.6%)

29 of those 88 Non-FBS

Kansas City Chiefs OT Eric Fisher, Central Michigan – 1st round 1st overall pick was the earliest Non-Power 5 pick.

Atlanta Falcons CB Robert Alford, Southeastern Louisiana – 2nd round 60th overall was the earliest Non-FBS pick.

2012 NFL Draft (253 picks):

69 Draft picks Non-Power 5 (27.2%)

22 of those 69 Non-FBS

Kansas City Chiefs DT Dontari Poe, Memphis – 1st round 11th overall pick was the earliest Non-Power 5 pick.

St. Louis Rams WR Brian Quick, Appalachian State – – 2nd round 33rd overall was the earliest Non-FBS pick.   (In 2012 Appalachian State was non FBS – they have moved to the FBS now)

So in the past 4 NFL Draft we see there was at least 1 first round pick from a Non-5 Power conference and in 2013 the first overall pick came from a Non-5 Power conference.  In the past 4 NFL draft ever year there has been a 2nd round pick that was from a Non-FBS school.

So just remember if you are in a Power 5 conference there are other guys looking to get drafted just as high as you are and if you are not in a Power 5 conference it doesn’t matter if you can play football the NFL will find you.

NFL Draft: NFL Combine just part of the process

By Justin VanFulpen

The NFL Combine has become a made for TV event for the NFL and it sponsors like Under Armor and the rest. Everyone loves to watch the 40 yard dash to see how fast all the players but the biggest reason all 32 NFL teams come to Indianapolis for the NFL combine is the medical test as well as the interviews that they can get done with over 300 players all at one location.

Former Dallas Cowboys general manager Tex Schramm, proposed to the NFL competition committee a centralization of the evaluation process for NFL teams. Prior to 1982, teams had to schedule individual visits with players to run them through drills and tests.

How do players get invited to the NFL Combine? Well for years the rumor was a player needed 6 votes to get invited but that is not the case. Here is what is directly from the NFL Combine website www.nflcombine.net about that subject.

“How are players selected for the NFL Combine?
Participants are determined annually by a Selection Committee. The Directors of both National and BLESTO scouting services, which combined represent twenty-five NFL teams, are joined by members of various NFL player personnel departments to form the committee. The participating NFL executives can rotate on a yearly basis, and remain anonymous. ALL eligible players are reviewed and voted on by the committee members. Each athlete receiving the necessary number of votes, by position, is then extended an invitation. While it is not a perfect science, the goal of the committee is to invite every player that will be drafted in the ensuing NFL Draft.”

There is no set number of invites but usually it is around 330 players, this year there were 322 players invited to the NFL Combine. Just because a player is invited to the NFL Combine does not guarantee that he will get drafted since there are only 256 players drafted each year in the NFL Draft. Now if a player goes to the NFL Combine there is a better chance that he will get drafted then players that doesn’t. But there are always players who didn’t get invited to the NFL Combine that get drafted, and this past year it was a very high number of players who didn’t get invited to the NFL Combine that got drafted, a total of 41.

Below is the breakdown by rounds of players who didn’t get invited to the combine but where drafted in the 2015 NFL Draft.

4th round – 3 players
5th round – 7 players
6th round – 16 players
7th round – 15 players

So just doing the math 107 players that went to the NFL Combine didn’t get drafted. So only 66.7% of the players that went to the NFL Combine got drafted this year.

Remember the NFL Combine is just part of the elevation process, with centralizing it and having all 32 teams involved it has cut down on part of the expense and one of the biggest part of the combine that isn’t shown on NFL Network is the medical aspect of it.

NFL Draft: Social Media Profile

By Justin VanFulpen

In the past few years social media has exploded and more and more corporate America is reviewing candidates for jobs social media profiles and making hiring decisions based on what they find on someone’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. This has now made its way to the NFL Draft process and it is something some NFL teams are taking to a scientific measurable level.

NFL teams are creating a “social media profile” on NFL draft prospects as well as their regular football profile that included medical and character. This social media profile is looking to see what the prospects are tweeting about, what they are posting, etc. Things that they are looking for is how much does the prospect post something about football? Are there posts about drugs, weapons, or alcohol? Does the prospect post things degrading women? Some NFL teams will use pie graphs to show the percentage of things that the prospect posts about.

How far are NFL teams going back to research? Well one NFL team that I talked to said that they looked all the way back at a tweet QB Jameis Winston had tweeted in high school. Yes, high school.

With this social media analytics and data what NFL teams are trying to find out is, one does the prospect love football and two is he a good guy and can we trust him. Everyone need to know what they post on social media could be viewed differently by different people. True what someone post on social media doesn’t give the full picture but it is a tool that NFL teams are trying to use to make better personal decisions.