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Jameis Winson was the first overall selection of the 2015 NFL Draft, followed by Marcus Mariota to the Tennessee Titans. The first two picks were both quarterbacks and they were also the only QBs selected in the first round. From an agency standpoint, Relativity Sports stole the show. Six Relativity Sports clients were selected in the first round, with the agency's highest pick being Dante Fowler Jr. at No. 3 to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Athletes First had four clients taken in the first round and both Lagardere Unlimited and Sportstars each had three clients off the board by the end of the night. The following is additional analysis of the selections in the 2015 NFL Draft and the business behind them.
32. New England Patriots select Malcolm Brown, RB, Texas – Agent: Athletes First
31. New Orleans Saints select Stephone Anthony, LB, Clemson – Agent: Tony Paige and Chitta Mallik (Perennial Sports)
30. Green Bay Packers select Damarious Randall, S, Arizona State – Agent: Dave Butz (Sportstars)
29. Indianapolis Colts select Phillip Dorsett, WR, Miami – Agents: Tony Fleming, Mitch Frankel and Ron Butler (Impact Sports)
28. Detroit Lions select Laken Tomlinson, G, Duke – Agent: Andrew Kessler and Carmen Wallace (Athletes First)
27. Dallas Cowboys select Byron Jones, CB, Connecticut – Agent: Jared
26. Baltimore Ravens select Breshad Perriman, WR, Central Florida – Agent: Drew Rosenhaus (Rosenhaus Sports Representation)
25. Carolina Panthers select Shaq Thompson, LB, Washington – Agent: Doug Hendrickson and CJ Laboy (Relativity Sports)
24. Arizona Cardinals select D.J. Humphries, T, Florida – Agents: Jonathan Perzley and Brian Mackler (Sportstars)
23. Denver Broncos select Shane Ray, DL, Missouri – Agents: Tony Fleming, Mitch Frankel and Ron Butler (Impact Sports)
Despite being cited on Monday for marijuana possession, Ray attended the NFL Draft with agent Tony Fleming.
22. Pittsburgh Steelers select Bud Dupree, DE, Kentucky – Agents: Todd France and Brian Ayrault (Five-Star Athlete Management)
21. Cincinnati Bengals select Cedric Ogbuehi, OT, Texas A&M – Agents: Ryan Williams (Athletes First)
20. Philadelphia Eagles select Nelson Agholor, WR, Southern California – Agents: Eugene Parker and Tory Dandy (Relativity Sports)
Through twenty picks, Relativity Sports represents one-fourth of the NFL Draft .
19. Cleveland Browns select Cameron Erving, C, Florida State – Agent: Issac Connor (Allegiant Athletic Agency)
Ten of the top 19 #NFLDraft picks are @opendorse clients. #proudpapa
— Blake Lawrence (@Blake_Lawrence) May 1, 2015
18. Kansas City Chiefs select Marcus Peters, DB, Washington – Agent: Doug Hendrickson (Relativity Sports)
The selection of Peters means that Relativity Sports represents four of the top eighteen picks of the NFL Draft.
17. San Francisco 49ers select Arik Armstead, DE, Oregon – Agents: Joel Segal, Chafie Fields and Greg Barnett (Lagardere Unlimited)
Back-to-back Lagardere Unlimited clients selected and three Lagardere clients taken in the first seventeen picks of the NFL Draft.
16. Houston Texans select Kevin Johnson, CB, Wake Forest – Agent: Joel Segal (Lagardere Unlimited)
15. San Diego Chargers select Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin – Agents: Damarius Bilbo and Fletcher N. Smith III (Revolution Sports)
Bilbo is a former Georgia Tech football player who worked many years under agent Todd France of Five-Star Athlete Management. Bilbo also represents Ty Montgomery out of Stanford.
14. Miami Dolphins select DeVante Parker, WR, Louisville – Agent: Jimmy Gould (Management One)
Parker has endorsement deals with adidas,
Parker has an endorsement deal with Bose.
13. New Orleans Saints select Andrus Peat, OL, Stanford – Agent: Tom Condon (Creative Artists Agency)
This is the first client off the board for Creative Artists Agency. In 2014, CAA already had two players selected by the thirteenth overall pick (Justin Gilbert and Taylor Lewan). In 2013, CAA had a total of five clients taken by teams in the first round.
Peat has an endorsement deal with Bose.
12. Cleveland Browns select Danny Shelton, DT, Washington – Agents: Jeff Sperbeck and Haig Abnous (The NOVO Agency)
Congrats to @Danny_Shelton55 goin to @Browns #12pick pic.twitter.com/WgjcYfK4rB
— The NOVO Agency (@TheNOVOAgency) May 1, 2015
11. Minnesota Vikings select Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State – Agent: Joe Panos (Athletes First)
Trae Waynes recorded a 4.31 40 yard dash time at the NFL Combine. He received a $100,000 check from adidas, which has signed the cornerback to an endorsement deal.
10. St. Louis Rams select Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia – Agent: Ari Nissim (Roc Nation Sports)
The sports agency started by Jay Z has a top ten pick in Todd Gurley. In its infancy, Roc Nation Sports was partnered with juggernaut Creative Artists Agency. Earlier this year it was announced that the partnership had expired and would not be renewed.
9. New York Giants select Ereck Flowers, OT, Miami – Agent: None
Ereck Flowers decided against signing with an agent leading up to the NFL Draft. He is believed to have been the only player who participated in the NFL Combine to not select an agent.
In 2013, safety Matt Elam also chose to forgo signing with an agent. He relied on the assistance of his brother and former NFL player Abe Elam during the process leading to and after the NFL Draft.
8. Atlanta Falcons select Vic Beasley, DE/LB, Clemson – Agents: Todd France and Brian Ayrault (Five-Star Athlete Management)
7. Chicago Bears select Kevin White, WR, West Virginia – Agents: Eugene Parker and Tory Dandy (Relativity Sports)
Kevin White partnered with
6. New York Jets select Leonard Williams, DT, USC – Agent: Eugene Parker (Relativity Sports)
Many scouts have anointed Williams as the best player available in the NFL Draft. His off-field endorsements will largely be shaped by what he is able to accomplish on the field, as Williams is admittedly rather quiet when he is not wreaking havoc on offensive linemen.
Despite his somewhat shy demeanor, Williams has scored a deal with Nike that features him, along with NFL prospects Amari Cooper and Marcus Mariota as endorsers of new cleats custom-designed around specific positions in order to improve performance.
Williams was also followed around by producers for
Williams’ path to the draft includes a deal with Speed Stick.
The pick of Williams by the Jets means that Eugene Parker now has two clients off the board in the first six picks of the NFL Draft.
5. Washington Redskins select Brandon Scherff, OL, Iowa – Agent: Neil Cornrich (NC Sports)
Perhaps the first "surprise" of the NFL Draft. Scherff selected Neil Cornrich as his agent. Cornrich also represents Scherff's coach at Iowa, Kirk Ferentz.
4. Oakland Raiders select Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama – Agents: Joel Segal and Chafie Fields (Lagardere Unlimited)
The competition to sign Cooper was intense, with the final candidates being the team of Joel Segal and Chafie Fields, Rick Smith of Priority Sports & Entertainment and Jimmy Sexton of Creative Artists Agency, who has signed many players from Alabama in the recent past and represents its head coach Nick Saban. After a week of in-person interviews, Segal and Fields won the right to represent Cooper, a Heisman Trophy Finalist and 2014 Fred Biletnikoff Award winner.
On January 28, NFL Players Inc. (NFLPI) released its “Rising 50” list, which projects retail stars and is created for the purpose of helping current and future business partners of NFLPI in player decision making, sales and marketing campaign development. That next crop of NFL players poised to rank among the top sellers of licensed merchandise includes mostly current NFL players, but also lists Cooper as No. 23, behind Andre Ellington and in front of Brandin Cooks.
Cooper already has deals in place with Nike and Upper Deck.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars select Dante Fowler, Jr., DE, Florida – Agents: Ben Dogra and Eugene Parker (Relativity Sports)
Dogra and Parker share the task of representing Fowler, who was previously represented by Jimmy Sexton of Creative Artists Agency before making the switch to Relativity. While Dogra and Parker are both listed on Fowler’s Standard Representation Agreement, Dogra will take the lead in representing the former Florida Gator.
It was a big win for Dogra to sign Fowler, who had been represented by one of his former colleagues at CAA. Dogra was terminated by CAA for cause in November 2014 and has lost many clients since then, including but not limited to J.J. Watt and Trent Williams. However, Dogra remains the agent of record for running back Adrian Peterson.
@RelativitySport client @dantefowler is ready for the #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/4abdzomKfs
— Happy Walters (@Happywalters) April 30, 2015
2. Tennessee Titans select Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon - Agents: Ryan Tollner, Bruce Tollner and
While Mariota picked the Tollner bothers and Chase Callahan of Rep 1 Sports, he has already selected separate marketing assistance for all of the off-field endorsements he has and expects to continue to garner. Mariota tapped marketing agent Alan Zucker of Excel Sports Management (formerly of IMG Worldwide), who also works with Peyton Manning and Eli Manning with their off-field pursuits. Zucker was selected by Mariota before he made his Contract Advisor selection known to the public.
Mariota is signed to Nike, a brand he is more than familiar with as a former member of the Oregon Ducks. Three days ago, the QB was welcomed as an endorser of Beats By Dre. Mariota also has deals in place with
Instead of heading to Chicago for the NFL Draft, Mariota decided to stay home in Oahu with family and friends.
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State - Agents: Greg Genske and Kenny Felder (The Legacy Agency)
The first pick of the 2015 NFL Draft is Jameis Winston . The biggest shocker among top NFL Draft prospects’ agent selections probably came with Winston picking Greg Genske and Kenny Felder of The Legacy Agency. It is not that The Legacy Agency or its agents lack a solid reputation. However, Genske and Felder have long been known as powerful baseball agents with no NFL clients. Then again, it makes sense. Winston is a two-sport athlete with a passion for playing baseball. Baseball players often select advisors to assist them leading up to the MLB Rule 4 Draft when they are high school athletes assessing whether or not to attend college. That may be how Genske and Felder had an early lead on the competition. The Legacy Agency will also handle all of Winston’s off-field endeavors.
The Legacy Agency released a statement on Winston’s behalf when he decided to enter the 2015 NFL Draft. It was a nontraditional move that was made by one of the most controversial college football players ever.
Winston has endorsement deals with Nike and Upper Deck. Winston seems to be on his way to off-field success despite his lawyer stating that the QB is not ready to be an NFL player off the field.
The Buccaneers should be paying Winston more than $22 million ($14.5 million signing bonus) during his rookie deal.
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Jameis Winston is the expected first overall pick of the NFL Draft. As of two days ago, Winston was a 1-15 favorite to be the first player selected.
What kind of impact will the first overall pick have on that team's ticket sales? According to ScoreBig.com, the Cleveland Browns, which selected arguably the most talked about player in the draft (Johnny Manziel) saw ticket prices jump 64%.
The NFL has released a list of walk-up songs selected by NFL prospects invited to the NFL Draft. Randy Gregory and Todd Gurley both selected "Check" by Young Thug.
Within ten minutes of the start of the NFL Draft, sportsbook Bovada is allowing users to bet on whether players will be selected above or below a certain position. One over/under bet is whether wide receiver Kevin White will be selected at No. 7 overall.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are on the clock. Will it be a battle over Heisman Trophy winners? Mariota or Winston -- who will be the first quarterback off the board?
Darren Heitner is a lawyer and the Founder of South Florida-based HEITNER LEGAL, P.L.L.C., which has a focus on Sports Law and Entertainment Law.
