ITL Friday Wrap

June 1-7


On the occasion of the start of the UFL’s playoffs this weekend, we wanted to take stock of where the league sits as it wraps up its inaugural season. The league has been innovative and the games themselves have been full of entertainment, but where does the league really stand? Do we finally have a sustainable minor league that can stand on its own?


To determine this, we reached out to the subject matter expert on the XFL, USFL, UFL and all things spring football, Mike Mitchell, Pro Football Writer for Sports Illustrated. Here’s what he told us. 

 

With regard to the immediate future of the United Football League, there’s not a lot of suspense. A 2025 UFL season was guaranteed before the newly merged XFL-USFL league even took the field this spring. This meant the clock wasn’t ticking so loudly for league owners/partners Red Bird Capital Partners, FOX Sports, Dany Garcia, Dwayne Johnson, and new part owner Disney.

 

Still, a few key metrics are involved when weighing the viability of the UFL in 2025 and beyond. They’re all tie to added revenues fortified by new league sponsors, and sponsors are seeking a few things. To wit:

 

TV ratings: Predictably, the UFL is ahead of the ratings pace the USFL and XFL set in 2023. Heading into the league's conference championship contests this weekend and the title game in St. Louis June 16, the UFL regular season has averaged 816,000 viewers across FOX, ABC, ESPN, FS1, and ESPN2. Those numbers are up 33% over last year's combined average of USFL and XFL games. There are two critical reasons for this. First, there is an increase in league games on broadcast networks. Second, the USFL and XFL aren't cannibalizing one another's audiences as they did a year ago. 

 

The UFL average of 816,000 viewers stacks up favorably against other spring sports properties, particularly on broadcast television. The NHL's regular season averaged 934,000; the English Premier League 862,000; and the WNBA averaged 811,000. 

 

However, unlike other sports leagues, the end goal is securing a rights fee. Because the UFL is already owned by major networks, FOX and ESPN aren't paying a rights fee as they would for other leagues. Hence, it all comes down to securing sponsors. The U.S. Army, which paid the UFL $10 million for the 2024 season, is among the league's top partners in that area. However, to see growth, the league needs to lure more high-end sponsorships. 

 

Game attendance: This is an area that needs improvement. The UFL averaged just over 12,000  fans per game during the regular season. A year ago, the XFL averaged over 14,000 for the regular season. The UFL's short timeframe to sell tickets after the government approved the merger in late December, as well as the league's newly altered timeline, may have played a role in the dip. 

 

A few surviving XFL teams from last season held their own from a year ago, with St. Louis continuing to be the standard-bearer, averaging more than 34,000 fans per game. However, the crossover USFL teams struggled to be successful at the box office. The attendance numbers were kept a secret a year ago, but were worse than this year's average of 8,000 for USFL games.

 

If the UFL is going to remain in its current eight markets, the league is going to need to ramp up promotional and community efforts to see growth in this revenue stream. 

 

The UFL's Q Score: Regarding the overall football product, the UFL's quality of play was better than the USFL and XFL in 2023, simply because the space saw 16 teams condensed into eight. 

 

A year ago, 111 players from the XFL (69) and USFL (42) signed NFL contracts. Thirty-five of those players finished the 2023 season on NFL rosters. It remains to be seen if the UFL has that type of success in NFL signings in the coming weeks, mainly because the league's calendar ends later than is ideally needed for players to latch onto NFL clubs. 

 

Nevertheless, beyond the quality of product, these leagues struggle to lure mainstream football fans to watch the games. As a result, the UFL's Q score – the measure of the average fan’s familiarity with the league -- is not a strong one. The league is either not thought of favorably by people who barely watch or, worse, not thought of at all. Above all else, the struggle for these entities is a lack of awareness and attention. 

 

The UFL simply doesn't have brand-name players to lure in casual fans. On top of that, mainstream media provides little to no coverage of the league. Until the league's Q rating changes. The UFL's ceiling for growth is going to be limited.  

 

Bottom line, the league will return in 2025. Beyond that, we still don’t know if the league will gain traction sufficient to expect we’ll still see games in two years. 

 

This week in scouting: It was another busy week – Wednesday, we probably sent more tweets than we ever have in one day – and though it lacked big names, there were still observable trends. First, let’s run down this week’s front office and staffing changes.



With that out of the way, a few takeaways:

 

  • We saw last year as the “year of analytics” when it comes to scouting departments. Well, that was nothing. Last year, we recorded 16 hires, additions or promotions in analytics departments. This year, with plenty of summer left, we’ve already counted 25 such moves. It’s an undeniable truth that the age of numbers has arrived in the NFL.
  • NFL teams also seem to be more aggressive this year about adding scouting assistants, and we might begin to see Cleveland’s structure (numerous SA’s rather than the traditional one or two) become the norm rather than the exception. That’s good news for the thousands of people trying to break into the league. Last year, 16 scouting assistants were hired. This year, there have been 23, and we expect more on the way before the end of July.
  • When it comes to analytics departments, there doesn’t seem to be a template for hires. We’re seeing numerous new NFL staffers coming from analytics-related companies like Pro Football Focus, but we’re also seeing them coming from other sports or from ventures completely unrelated to athletics. 
  • As for scouting assistants, your best bet remains working in personnel and recruiting at the university level, especially in P5 conferences. More than a third of this year’s hires (8) came directly from college football support staffs, which is even more impressive when you consider that about half of new hires were simply elevated from intern-related roles. 


Want even more scouting news and analysis? We’ve got plenty of it in podcast form as Right Step Advising’s Rodrik David and ITL’s Neil Stratton served up two editions of the Scouting the League podcast. 

 

  • Monday’s brief podcast featured a rundown of the previous week in scouting moves and how front offices were shaped. Most of the focus was on the avalanche of scouting assistant and analytics hires, but the duo also discussed Jacksonville’s decision to hire a coach to fill a scouting role; the NFLPA’s proposed new offseason schedule that could be on the way in 2025; the fitness of wrestlers on the gridiron; and plenty more. Make sure to check it out.



It was a busy week chronicling the developments this offseason. Maybe you were part of it. Maybe you only wished you were. If you were in the latter group, it’s probably not too late for you to begin building your place in the game, especially if you go by the career of ITL’s Neil Stratton. Stratton was anything but an overnight success in creating and molding Inside the League, and he recounts his ups and downs along the way in this week’s post at Succeed in Football. Stratton recounts ITL’s debut, which was much more fizzle than fantastic; the unplanned “sale” designed to keep the site afloat; the job that he thought would save him; his return to ITL; and, finally, when light began to appear at the end of the tunnel. Especially if you’re in your 30s (Stratton launched ITL at the age of 33), give this week’s post a read.

 

Now let’s take a look at what else happened in the business of college and pro football this week.

 

Catching Up: Don Warren, 68, spent 17 years in scouting with Washington and Carolina after a 14-year NFL playing career. We caught up with him this week. 


  • Where are you living and what are you doing now?: “I have two homes. I have one in Clifton in Northern Virginia, and then we have another one at Lake Anna, just north of Richmond, south of Fredericksburg, south of (Washington) D.C. So we have two homes. We try to stay down at the lake a lot more, that’s for sure. Two houses pretty much keep you busy, I’ll tell you that. You’re always doing one thing at one of the houses, then you gotta come to the lake and mow the lawn. I’m a hands-on guy and pretty cheap, most people will tell you. I don’t like paying people to mow lawns, so I try to do most of that stuff myself. Now, I’m huge into pickle ball, and I usually play three times a week and three hours a day. The doctor just told me, at your age, just keep moving, and it’s been a great thing. If I stop moving, my body’s really gonna go. After 14 years in the NFL, I tell everybody, every once in a while, you want to feel something?  Jump in this body for 24 hours.” 


  • Do you miss the job? What do you miss most?: “I don’t really miss it because I was in football my whole life, and basically, football is the only thing I know. I played 14 years, then took a hiatus and coached my kids at Centreville High School in Northern Virginia, and they all got scholarships and went to Virginia Tech. Then, eight years after that, my wife was getting on me and told me I needed to get a real job. So I called (Redskins head coach) Joe Gibbs and within 20 minutes his secretary called me back with Joe on the line, and Joe offered me the job in 2005, offered a job in scouting. To answer your question, what I miss, it's like playing football. It's the camaraderie and the guys and being around the coaches. It’s kinda the same thing. It’s definitely just, going to work, and you laugh with the guys, and you feel like you’re part of a good organization, and good things are gonna happen. I was spoiled playing because we had such a good team and did so well, and you don’t realize how hard it is to put together a good group of guys and a good football team. You gotta have good coaches, good scouts, good players. There’s so much that goes into it. People don’t realize it.” 


  • Do you keep in touch with any of your former colleagues?: “I do. Not as much, like in Carolina, as I do here in Washington, but I still keep in touch with them quite a bit. I talk to the former players a lot more, guys I used to play with, I keep an eye on them more than I do the scouting community. It’s just something that I think, in playing and scouting, there’s camaraderie, but in playing, you do get a little closer. The stories in the huddle . . . those people are family.” 


  • Do you go to any live games (HS/college/pro)?: “Not really. I haven’t been to a live game in two years, when I was scouting. I do watch the Commanders on TV, but I haven’t been to a live game. We will go to alumni week. We try to go to those, like last year, we went to the alumni deal. Every once in a while, we get invited to games, so we go.” 


  • Do you find yourself watching games and rooting for the teams you grew up with, or the people you worked for?: “You know what? You say that, and I think it’s kinda both, but I think at this point in my (life) and everything else, I really enjoy rooting for . . . there’s a ton of people. (Bills GM) Brandon Beane . . . a ton of guys in the NFL. There are a lot of coaches with the Bills that I really respect and I have good friendships with because they were with the Panthers when I was down there, and there’s a lot of teams, I kinda cheer for them because I know the coaches. I’ve been around a lot of coaches. There have been a lot of coaches go in and out of the scouting places I’ve been, and I hook up with them and I know that they’re coaching on this staff or that staff, and I find myself rooting for them. And scouts, too. I know a lot of guys that are in scouting and across the United States and a lot of those guys I root for because I know that’s their team.” 

 

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.


Don’t sleep on Blake: Last week, former Titans scouting executive Blake Beddingfield joined dozens of agents and scouting enthusiasts as he broke down 50 prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft that are seen as Day 3/UDFA types. It’s a unique Zoom session as most draft experts focus on Day 1 hopefuls, but not for Blake, who’s presented his top sleepers to ITL’s audience for four years straight (and second year doing it in the summer). As we discussed last week, Blake had uncanny success with last year’s predictions as only three of the players he featured last summer didn’t make it into camp in some form. Will this year’s crop achieve similarly? Start by getting a look at his picks, which come from schools all over the nation, every conference, and at the FBS and FCS levels. The recording of Blake’s breakdowns, as well as the XL form listing all the players and providing a brief scouting report, can be purchased for $40 plus tax. If you’re seeking “make it” prospects that are off the beaten path, we encourage you to give it a look.


The return of Ian: On Thursday at 9:30 p.m. ET, Chicago-based contract advisor Ian Greengross will host his fifth Zoom session dedicated to teaching the finer points of the CBA and preparing test-takers for next month’s NFL Agent Exam. Topics will include:


  • Proven Performance Escalator
  • Fifth-year option
  • RFA tenders
  • Reporting dates
  • Minicamp rules
  • Offseason workout rules
  • Calculating opening day of camp
  • Five-day acclimation period


Cost is $50 plus tax, and as always, all participants will also receive a copy of the video afterwards. We’ll send out the Zoom link Thursday afternoon. Also, if you’re new to ITL and you’re more of a visual learner, consider picking up our previous four videos (February, March, April and May). Here’s what they cover:


  • February: Given a signing bonus and Year 4 cap number, calculate rookie salary • Calculation of problems re: June 1 rule, a key concept that's always part of the exam • Calculation of agent fees, including split between two agents after one has been terminated. • Accrued seasons, accrued seasons for benefits, and accrued seasons for salary. $50 plus tax
  • March: 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 • Termination pay • Veteran salary benefit. $50 plus tax
  • April: Preseason split and in-season split, types of splits, definition, etc. • workman’s comp offsets, etc. • draft signals • PPE (partial coverage) • and practice squad salaries. $50 plus tax.
  • May: VSB/Four-Year Player Benefit • Termination Pay • Injury Grievance • PPE/5th year option • IR/Designated for Return • Practice Squad • Severance pay/calculation of retirement benefits. $50 plus tax. 


Don’t miss out on this highly affordable, highly educational chance to hear an expert break down all the key concepts before taking the exam in less than two months. Still need more? Consider our new offer. Generation Sports Group’s Shane Costa and Christian Kranz, both of them active NFL contract advisors, are offering their assistance on passing the exam this summer. The program is already under way, but still in its early stages. Cost is $250/month, and the program offers: 

 

  • One Zoom/Google meetup per week with Christian and/or Shane (Wednesdays or Thursdays).
  • A Slack channel where Christian and Shane moderate and answer exam questions and explain materials (must have purchased ITL exam guide).
  • End of July ITL Exam Review Session.
  • Daily Subtext with one exam topic explainer per day (M-F).

 

Ready to sign up? Click here.


Agents by Total Clients: This week, we provided two long-overdue reports. One of them was our monthly look at which contract advisors are doing the most work in the representation space. In this week’s rundown of total clients for active agents (minimum 10), we counted 102 agents who met the standard. The top five offered quite a contrast as the top five finishers (RSR’s Drew Rosenhaus, WME’s Joel Segal and CAA’s Jimmy Sexton) each have more than 30 years in the game, while the next two (Athletes First’s David Mulugheta and CAA’s Tory Dandy) have scarcely more than a decade as certified agents. It just goes to show that there’s more than one road to success in the game. Make sure to check out all the honorees in this week’s post.


2024 Draft by the Numbers: The backbone of success in player representation is the ability to recruit. However, it helps not only to know who’s worth recruiting, but which positions are worth it, as well. To do that, it’s important to go inside the numbers. On Thursday, we published a total breakdown, by position, of how many players were drafted, signed as UDFAs, invited to rookie mini-camp and more. It provides a good look at which players, by position, got paid most often. You can even compare this year’s numbers to the last decade’s draft classes, just to make sure what you read isn’t an anomaly. Knowing which positions are most in demand is a critical part of representing today’s top talent. Get started on that task here.

 

 

Next week: This is the week when things start slowing down and the pro football industry begins turning toward vacation time. That’s not true everywhere – Stallions, Panthers, Brahmas and Battlehawks begin battle for a UFL title this weekend – but for the most part, the hay is in the barn this offseason. As such, we’ll use the week to do a little catch-up while also covering everything that’s breaking. Here’s what we see coming this week.



We’re here and want to help, no matter what part of the football industry you’re part of. Give us a chance to assist you in getting to the next level.

2024 Draft by Pick

Scouting Changes Grid

ITL Study Guide

ITL Practice Exam 1

ITL Practice Exam 2

Rep Rumblings

Friday Wrap

Succeed in Football
 
 
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