NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

In the spirit of continuing to bring you fresh interviews from around the league, the Warpath.net Front Office has set up an interview with Howard Shatsky.

Who? You might ask. Shatsky has over 20 years experience as an NFL agent and currently represents potential draft pick Kenrick Ellis (NT-Hampton).

Howard has agreed to answer our questions about what he and his client do to prepare for the draft. How do they prepare? What happens during team visits and pro days?

We've had the scout's perspective and now we're going to bring you the agent's perspective.

So post your questions here for him

(FYI: He's quite busy these days so the answers may take a while to come back)

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

Cool SS.

Mr. Shatsky, what is it like to negotiate with Bruce Allen? Is he different from other front office negotiators?

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

what kind of pie do you like? and about question #3......

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

How much preparation (and what type) goes into preparing a potential draftee for their team interview? Is there a concern that the interview comes off "canned"? Generallly, does such an interview hurt a potential draftee or is more important to avoid screwing things up at the risk of being seen as performing by rote?

Do you find teams have different priorities on pro days as opposed to the combine? If so, what are they?

As players subject to the draft have little control over who chooses them, is it more important to simply for the player to "do his best" during a pro day or is their some attempt target desired teams? i.e. - Do players occasionally/sometimes/never tailor their pro days to the needs of specific teams in hopes of enhancing their probability of being selected by that team?

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

I'm a bright and motivated college student with no connections to the nfl in any way, but it would be my dream to work in the business. How did you get started in your career? Are there any paths you might recommend?

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

How do you keep a kid that has high first round hopes, but low third round talent calm prior to the draft? I imagine everyone thinks they should go higher in the draft. Do you feed their ego, or do you try to keep them grounded? Thanks.

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

Has he read "The Things We Think and Do Not Say: The Future of Our Business" and if so does he agree with it?

Not sure if he will answear these:
Whats his faviort teams to work with, what are the worst teams to work with. And to go along with that faviort position and least faviort position.

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

I'll ask him what his favorites are, not sure he can answer his faviorts

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

Who is his faviort team?

Who is Ellis recieving the most interest from? Please answer Skins to both, thanks

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

[quote=mlmpetert;793155]Has he read "The Things We Think and Do Not Say: The Future of Our Business" and if so does he agree with it?

Not sure if he will answear these:
Whats his faviort teams to work with, what are the worst teams to work with. And to go along with that faviort position and least faviort position.[/quote]

booze talkin'?

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

[quote=Mattyk;793227]booze talkin'?[/quote]

[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana] [/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]Im actually a worse speller then firstdown, but I usually type up what I want to say in a email or word document and then past it in or if im on Chrome (at home) it automatically catches it for me. This time I thought this was short enough and the words were common enough that I would be good…… [/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana] [/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]But yeah, if it were a little later in the day it would be the booze talkin’[/FONT][/COLOR]

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

OK guys, I will begin answering your questions.

Lotus:

Bruce Allen is a very good friend of mine so I enjoy negotiating with him. As a former agent, Bruce understands what an agent and his client need to get a deal done. Bruce is extremely knowlegeable about personnel and the marketplace and is a tough, buit fair, negotiator. Also, how can you not like a guy whose favorite food is pizza!

dmek25:

Apple, without question is my favorite kind of pie.

skinster:

If you can afford to work for free, internships are a great way to get started in the industry. There are many teams, unions, agents, in this area. I would start reaching out and trying to contact as many people as I could. Also, Georgetown has a great program for sports if you are looking to go to graduate school.

Joe Redskin that is a lot of questions so I will get back to you and the others shortly. Thanks for your questions and for inviting me here.

Howard Shatsky
Professional Football Management
@ProFootballMgmt on Twitter

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

Welcome to the board! Great having you on here.

How do you balance finding the best opportunity for your clients with preparing them (financially/emotionally) with the very real possibility that they won't achieve their NFL dream?

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

Thank you so much Mr. Shatsky. Welcome aboard!

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

Joe Redskin asks:

How much preparation (and what type) goes into preparing a potential draftee for their team interview? Is there a concern that the interview comes off "canned"? Generallly, does such an interview hurt a potential draftee or is more important to avoid screwing things up at the risk of being seen as performing by rote?


Joe, you have to remember that a typical rookie is a 22 year old kid who has never been on a job interview. So, some things are general interview tips you would give anyone such as look someone in the eye when you answer their question. Also, I want my clients to know something about the people they are going to sit down with. Some agents hire consultants to prepare players. Players also practice the Wunderlich test. The prep is fairly extensive. In terms of coming off canned, you really dont know what questions a particular team/person will ask, so I dont worry much about that. The NFL knows players prepare and they ask questions designed to find out what a person is really about. As with any individual some will come off good in an interview and some wont. In my opinion the higher a player is being considered in the draft, the more important the interview process is.

Joe also asks:

Do you find teams have different priorities on pro days as opposed to the combine? If so, what are they?

What goes on at Pro Day is much different than at the Combine so the purpose of attending is not necessarily the same. The physicals and interviews done at the Combine are an essential part of that process and that stuff does not occur at Pro Day. I would say at th the priority at the Combine is getting to know the prospects a team is interested in while at Pro Day the emphasis is more on the physical workout.

Joe's last question:

As players subject to the draft have little control over who chooses them, is it more important to simply for the player to "do his best" during a pro day or is their some attempt target desired teams? i.e. - Do players occasionally/sometimes/never tailor their pro days to the needs of specific teams in hopes of enhancing their probability of being selected by that team?

In short, players just try to "do their best" in all workouts for an NFL team.

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

....

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

Hagams asks:

"How do you keep a kid that has high first round hopes, but low third round talent calm prior to the draft? I imagine everyone thinks they should go higher in the draft. Do you feed their ego, or do you try to keep them grounded? Thanks."

Hagams, all agents do things differently but for me the best approach is honesty. I tell my clients what the teams are saying. I also always caution them that on draft day anything can happen. If a team tells you that if you are there at #20, we are taking you, dont necessarily count on that. What they really mean, but arent saying, is so long as no one we have rated in the top 5 picks falls to #20 than we are selecting you with that pick. One player falling that a team has rated very high or at a position they have an extreme need for can change their pick. And no one is calm on draft day!

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

mlmpetert asks:

"Has he read "The Things We Think and Do Not Say: The Future of Our Business" and if so does he agree with it?"


I enjoyed Jerry McGuire and I always Show My Clients The Money!

mlmpetert also asks:

"Not sure if he will answear these:
Whats his faviort teams to work with, what are the worst teams to work with. And to go along with that faviort position and least faviort position."


I dont have a favorite or least favorite team to work with. I have good relationships throughout the NFL and have great respect for the team negotiators, they are very good at what they do. There is not much difference in representing a player at different positions. One of my mentors and heros Bill Parcells told me a long time ago when I recruit I should miss big or miss fast and I have always followed that advice.

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

Chico23231 asks:

"Who is his faviort team?"

I grew up in NJ so I have always rooted for the Jets and Giants. Having said that Chico, my first client ever was Andre Collins and I live in Maryland, so I have a soft spot for the Skins!


Chico23231 also asks:

"Who is Ellis recieving the most interest from? Please answer Skins to both, thanks"

We have received a lot of interest from multiple teams.

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

SmootSmack asks:

"How do you balance finding the best opportunity for your clients with preparing them (financially/emotionally) with the very real possibility that they won't achieve their NFL dream?"

As I mentioned before, my approach is to always be honest with my clients. I have always remember what one of my clients said to me, there is so much BS that goes on in this business, I know the one place I can call and never get lied to is your office. That is important to me and the individuals I represent. Less than 1/2 of 1% of every person that ever played Division 1 college football will ever even step on an NFL field. Even for those who do reach the next level, the average career is less than 4 years. That is why it is important to graduate from college and also to begin working on a second career while you are playing in the NFL. People think that all NFL players are millionaires, that is far from the truth. I feel the guys I represent truly appreciate the unique opportunity they have to play in the NFL and the responsibility that comes with that.

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

Thanks to the Warpath.net Front Office for inviting me here and to the members of this forum for their warm welcome and great questions. I appreciate the opportunity to interact and hope my responses were not too boring! Anyone looking to interact more can follow me on Twitter @ProFootballMgmt

Lets hope the Lockout ends soon!

Howard Shatsky

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

Thanks very much for taking the time to answer mine and everyone else's questions!

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

THAT is kick ASS
Many thanx to Pro MGMT for taking the time to respond!!
Nice work SS....you...could make....Mod of the month!
with all the perks......premium parking space.....keys to the executive Mod washroom...etc

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

[quote=dmek25;793070]what kind of pie do you like? and about question #3......[/quote]

LOL, Questions:

#1- What was the first thing he did after he woke up today?
#2- What is his favorite cereal?
#3- What is his favorite Skittle color?
#4- What is his best meal he cooks?
#5- (for the ladies) What does he wear to bed?

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

^ Awe man..... I'm late to the party. :(

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

[quote=Hog1;793473]THAT is kick ASS
Many thanx to Pro MGMT for taking the time to respond!!
Nice work SS....you...could make....Mod of the month!
with all the perks......premium parking space.....keys to the executive Mod washroom...etc[/quote]

Matty's locked me and the rest of the mods out of the Warpath facilities during this labor impasse. Major sticking point has been reserved parking spaces. He makes us take a shuttle from a satellite lot to the main WP offices.

re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

Updating thread title

Re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

[quote=SmootSmack;793481]Matty's locked me and the rest of the mods out of the Warpath facilities during this labor impasse. Major sticking point has been reserved parking spaces. He makes us take a shuttle from a satellite lot to the main WP offices.[/quote]

So you're working for free right now? And are you and the mods going to have your own OTAs? LOL.

Re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

[quote=Ruhskins;793484]So you're working for free right now? And are you and the mods going to have your own OTAs? LOL.[/quote]

Yeah, Gmanc711 is setting them up

Re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

[quote=ProFootballMgmt;793390]Chico23231 asks:

"Who is his faviort team?"

I grew up in NJ so I have always rooted for the Jets and Giants. Having said that Chico, my first client ever was Andre Collins and I live in Maryland, so I have a soft spot for the Skins!


Chico23231 also asks:

"Who is Ellis recieving the most interest from? Please answer Skins to both, thanks"

We have received a lot of interest from multiple teams.[/quote]



Very cool, thanks. I think Ellis is a really nice sleeper at NT, wouldnt mind him at all in a Skins uniform.

Re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

That was very instructive, Mr. Shatsky. Thank you for taking time out of your busy pre-draft schedule to speak to us.

Re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

Thanks Mr. Shatsky. Always nice to get a glimpse behind the scenes.

Re: NFL Agent Howard Shatsky Answered Your Questions Here
 

Wow, wish this would've been mentioned in main forum.