Apr 6, 2021
In this episode of the K.P. Wee
podcast, it’s all about navigating the football industry’s backroom
staffing. In a conversation recorded in March 2021, Neil Stratton,
founder of the Inside the League
(ITL), offers valuable perspectives
and advice for prospects, parents, coaches, administrators and
agents. His blog, podcast, website and the many features his Inside
the League website offers are critical tools for anyone who aspires
to build a career in the college or pro football industry. Neil
pioneered the concept of an online trade journal and has also
served as an advisor to schools from the Big 10, ACC, WAC,
Conference USA and Pac 10.
It wouldn’t be covering the
whole story, however, if Neil didn’t share his early pre-Internet
days and the various starts and stops he weathered along the road
to success for his multi-faceted Inside the League franchise. K.P.
and Neil also tackle the evolution of scouting and the changes in
philosophy that have arisen since the Moneyball concept emerged,
along with a new breed of owners who tend to run their NFL teams
like they run their businesses. There is, Neil says, much more of
an emphasis today on basing decisions on math and downsizing the
role of scouting departments. It’s hard to say whether that trend
holds in a post-pandemic world.
The episode wraps up with advice
for aspiring football professionals of all types and it comes down
to one thing: Put yourself out there. The industry is sought-after
and (at least has the appearance of being) glamorous, so don’t
expect anyone to send you an invitation. Find a way to contribute –
volunteering or doing menial work – and find a mentor to start
building your network from there!
Neil’s excellent book,
Scout Speak: Thinking and Talking about Being an NFL
Evaluator, is
available
here. It offers insider perspectives and advice from
legends in the field that you won’t want to
miss.
If you’re a fan of this
podcast’s intro music, please follow Roger Chong:
Twitter @chongroger and Instagram @chongroger
KEY TOPICS:
- (01:34): How Inside the League came about, its
roots and modest start in the transition between print- and
Internet-based publishing
- (03:22): It was agents, financial advisers and
wealth managers at All-Star games who initially encouraged Neil to
start a publication focused on them, which he did in 2002. It was a
slow start.
- (04:13) The summer of 2007, Neil went to work
for the Hula Bowl. It was going to be a turning point but the game
was cancelled and the wheels fell off. Neil was disgusted, until
(with a nudge from his wife) Neil adopted a new subscription model
and relaunched Inside the League.
- (06:31): It was a leap of faith for his new
subscribers, who had no Twitter or other social media platforms
giving them a peak behind the wall. But people came and Neil never
looked back, having now added a podcast, a blog, newsletter,
partnering and a number of other unique tools.
- (08:26): How an exam program for aspiring
agents came into being and what ITL’s testing/prep does to prepare
people for the career.
- (11:20): Neil’s expertise with scouting and the
pervasive impacts of pandemic in terms of connecting people within
and aspiring to the industry. ITL responded with professional
development tools online featuring top figures who have shared
their knowledge and experience.
- (13:37): All about Neil’s book
Scout Speak (now also available on audio) and who the book
is targeted to serve. It provides insider information as well as
stories culled from recordings made at events over the years,
including interviews with more than 30 former and current general
managers, scouts and other players in the industry.
- (16:20): Scouting isn’t the “fantasy football”
dream that many people might think. Neil gets into the nitty-gritty
of what life looks like for those who pursue a scouting
career.
- (17:18): Neil explains how ITL 1.0 was strictly
about agents. ITL 2.0, which has expanded its focus on scouting.
ITL 3.0 tackles the college personnel community and integrating it
with the agent and scouting industries.
- (18:00): Passion and sacrifice are inevitable
in this industry. The pay is small, the hours are long. You’re up
against deadlines, often lonely and unwelcome at the school you’re
visiting.
- (20:42): The dynamic between coaches and owners
has evolved to where it’s hard to tell the players from the scouts,
who are very often young ex-players who are in shape but don’t
perhaps have as many contacts or as much experience.
- (23:10): The ways in which scouting has changed
over Neil’s 20 years in the industry and where it’s heading in a
post-pandemic world where priorities and contacts may bear more or
less importance.
- (24:10) K.P. summarizes recent history in terms
of distinguishing information gatherers versus talent
evaluators.
- (24:27): How analytics have changed scouting
standards and approaches – as well as the differing ways people
interpret what quantitative data means.
- (27:25): Neil offers words of advice (and
concrete tactics) for young professionals who aspire to get access,
network and find their way onto the first rung in this highly
competitive industry.
- (31:00): Neil’s advice to aspiring football
professionals: Volunteer at stadiums, find a camp that a player is
putting on, do whatever you can to build relationships. (Posting
comments on Twitter is not enough …)
- (32:30): The XFL’s and CFL’s future and what
synergies may be out there – as well as opportunities for people
looking for a place to put their skills to work and make important
connections and access opportunities.
KEY QUOTES:
- (03:52) “(ITL got started) right when sports
business news was something people were talking about, something
new, and the idea of sports business management degrees was new …
Money was being plowed into the industry.”
- (04:02): “I thought it would be a wild success
and everyone would want to know more about the industry but it
wasn’t that at all.”
- (06:10): “The idea in ’08 of using a credit
card on the internet was still kind of a new idea, something people
were nervous about and reluctant about so I had those things I was
working against.”
- (07:50): “From the initial idea, just trying to
track and inform agents, we’ve expanded to work with agents,
scouts, marketing people, financial advisers, wealth managers,
people across this industry.
- (10:40): “I believe in the win-win. I believe I
can help you get better and pass the (agents’) exam and live your
dream. All you gotta do is help me by supporting what we do. Our
niche is to help people progress through the industry.”
- (13:14): “We’ve been excited about how we’ve
made it easy for people to become part of the industry they aspire
to and get the questions only certain people can answer. Making the
learning curve shorter is our whole goal.”
- (15:30): “The idea at first was to write a book
for people interested in scouting but as it has evolved a lot of my
friends in the industry have picked it up and purchased
it.”
- (16:19): “Your rank-and-file fan thinks
scouting is like fantasy football times a million. Well, it’s not
quite that. It’s more drudgery, driving late nights and getting up
early, sitting in a scouting room all day and talking to people who
may not want to give you what you seek.”
- (16:56): “Scouts don’t have as much power as
maybe people think they do. They aren’t out calling the
shots.”
- (18:21): “You’re certainly not getting rich.
It’s an industry where you’ve certainly got to pay your dues and
work your way up. The salaries are better than they used to be.
There are some approaching $100,000 but that’s certainly not the
standard. You’re usually going to start out at $40,000 or
$50,000.”
- (19:40): “There is a camaraderie and fraternity
to it that appeals to a lot of people, but that’s such a small part
of it … that you better be coming into it with a passion for the
game because it’s not as glamorous as you think.”
- (22:25): “In the old days you had spirited
arguments amongst scouts because these guys had coached, they had
played in many cases; they knew what teams were looking for. They
were used to teams doing a certain thing. They were cut from a
different cloth.
- (24:48): “The difficulty with analytics
is you ask two different people and they have a different answer on
what analytics really is.”
- (26:12): “I think there’s a certain mix of
traditional scouting and analytics that’s most effective. The
problem is no one really know exactly what that mix
is.”
- (30:40): “If you want to work in football
you’ve got to be very intentional about looking for opportunities
to go meet people, to go work for people, to prove yourself to
people and if you aren’t doing that … your chances aren’t very
good.”
- (31:14): “Football is one of the most
network-based industries out there and if you don’t go out and meet
people – and more importantly have a mentor or champion who will go
to bat for you and help you find opportunities – it’s almost
impossible to break in.”
- (33:52): “There are hundreds of people who want
to do this kind of work and you’ve got to be the one to go in and
do the things that other people don’t want to do. That’s how you
stand out and apart from everybody else.”
Follow Neil Stratton/ITL:
Website: http://www.insidetheleague.com
Blog: www.succeedinfootball.com
Podcast:
The Draft Brawl
Podcast
@Twitter
@LinkedIn
About K.P. Wee:
K.P. Wee is the author of
multiple books and a regular contributor to sports radio programs
and websites. In addition to hosting The K.P. Wee Podcast, he also
enjoys writing sports and psychological fiction with a twist of
romance. He spent a decade working as a program developer and
instructor for a private school before joining the
Vancouver Canadians baseball club’s
media relations department.
You can find out more about books by K.P. Wee
here.
Follow K.P. Wee:
K.P. @Twitter
Additional episodes of The K.P.
Wee Podcast: https://kpwee.libsyn.com