The rule
Two texts govern it, and they agree.
- NFLPA Regulations Governing Contract Advisors, §1A: "No person (other than a player representing himself) shall be permitted to conduct individual contract negotiations on behalf of a player" unless certified by the NFLPA, with a signed Standard Representation Agreement on file.
- CBA Article 48 §2: the Commissioner "shall disapprove any NFL Player Contract(s)... unless such player" is represented by a certified contract advisor or "acts on his own behalf in negotiating." Article 48 §1 bars clubs from negotiating with any agent not on the NFLPA's list; §3 fines a club that does so, $47,000 under the 2020 agreement, rising 5% a year from 2021, with a first violation exempt.
- The league's own reminder. In March 2023, with Lamar Jackson on a non-exclusive franchise tag and no certified agent, the NFL sent a memo to all clubs: an offer sheet "may only be negotiated with the player, if he is acting on his own behalf, or with the player's NFLPA certified agent."
There is no family exception and no lawyer exception. Anyone other than the player who wants to speak to the club about the contract holds NFLPA certification. The parent page and the lawyer page cover those two cases.
The procedure
For a player under contract, there is nothing to file: he negotiates an extension with his own club. For free agency, CBA Article 9 §1(b)(v) defines an "Unrepresented Player" as one who has no certified contract advisor before the league year "and he submits written verification of such status to the NFL and NFLPA... no later than five (5) days prior to the start of that League Year." That verification matters because of the two-day negotiating period before free agency opens: the league's rule says an unrepresented unrestricted free agent "is permitted to communicate directly with a new club's front office officials (excluding the head coach and other members of the club's coaching staff)," and "the club is responsible for confirming the player's status as an unrepresented player." A player who has not filed can miss that window.
What an agent may charge
| Contract | Maximum fee |
|---|---|
| A negotiated contract | 3% of the compensation the player receives in each season covered. The Standard Representation Agreement sets 1.5% unless both sides initial 2%, 2.5%, 3% or another figure. |
| First franchise or transition tag, or an RFA tender | 2% |
| Second tag | 1.5% |
| Third tag | 1% |
"Compensation" for the fee counts salary and signing, reporting and roster bonuses, practice squad pay above the minimum, and earned performance incentives. It excludes Pro Bowl and All-Pro bonuses and collectively bargained benefits. The agent is paid only after the player receives the money. Endorsement and marketing income is outside the cap altogether; the blog explains why. On a $50 million contract, 3% is $1.5 million and the form's default 1.5% is $750,000; that is the sum a self-represented player keeps, against the time and the risk the cases below show.
Who can be certified
Since certification is the line, here is what it takes. The NFLPA requires an undergraduate and a postgraduate degree, or seven years of negotiating experience in their place, attendance at a seminar and a pass on a written exam (two straight failures bar a new application for five years), liability insurance, and dues of $1,500 a year for an agent with fewer than ten active clients or $2,000 for ten or more. The union lists more than 850 certified agents. About 62% of them are attorneys, according to a Harvard Law School study of the profession.
Who has done it, and how it went
The NFLPA counted 17 players acting as their own agent in 2022; no newer count was found. The documented cases:
| Player | Deal | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Russell Okung, Broncos, 2016 | Reported as five years, $53 million | Planned a sports lawyer at a one-time flat fee and thanked the NFLPA. Later analysis showed one year with team options and no guaranteed money; Denver declined the option in 2017. He then signed with the Chargers for about $13.25 million guaranteed. |
| Richard Sherman, 49ers, 2018 | Three years, up to $39.15 million, $3 million signing bonus | His wife helped. Former agent Joel Corry called it "pennywise and pound foolish" with "inadequate" injury guarantees, and put the commission saved at no more than $904,500. Sherman earned more than $30 million over the three seasons, and the NFLPA helped him collect a $2 million roster bonus. |
| Lamar Jackson, Ravens, 2018 | Rookie deal, four years, $9.5 million | No agent; his mother as manager. |
| Bobby Wagner, Seahawks, 2019 | Three years, $54 million, $40.2 million guaranteed | The top inside-linebacker deal at the time. He told Laremy Tunsil it was "pretty easy." Did it again with the Rams in 2022: five years, $50 million. |
| Laremy Tunsil, Texans, 2020 | $66 million extension, $50 million guaranteed | The top-paid offensive lineman at the time, with unnamed advisers; the hardest part, he said, was "the terminology." Again in 2023: three years, $75 million, $50 million fully guaranteed. |
| DeAndre Hopkins, Cardinals, 2020 | Two years, $54.5 million extension | Left his agency in June 2020 and said he did "90%" of the talks himself. The top-paid non-quarterback at the time. He later hired a lawyer who is also certified. |
| D.J. Humphries, Cardinals, 2021 | Three-year extension, more than $30 million guaranteed | Told the AP in 2022: "I probably wouldn't do it again." |
| Lamar Jackson, Ravens, 2023 | Five years, $260 million, $185 million guaranteed | At the time the largest contract in the league, after a non-exclusive franchise tag and a public trade request. His mother remained his manager, not a certified agent. |
The pattern in the criticism is consistent: where a self-negotiated deal was faulted, it was on guarantees and structure, not the headline number. A law professor quoted by the AP in 2022 said athletes have managed rookie deals because "it's slotted money and there's very few terms in the contracts left to be negotiated," and could think of only "very rare situations" where a player is equipped for a second, third or fourth contract alone. The players on this list who did it more than once, Wagner and Tunsil, are the counterexamples.
What they used
- A lawyer at a flat fee. Okung's stated plan; what the AP reports more rookies doing since the 2011 wage scale; what Hopkins moved to afterwards.
- The NFLPA. It says it does not recommend teams or deals but gives comparative data, analysis and CBA guidance, and it recovered Sherman's bonus. Its public free agency dashboard lists every free agent, their agent and their new club; "Player Contract History" and "Build a Salary Report" need a player login.
- Public contract data. Over The Cap carries every contract and the full CBA text; Spotrac covers every league.
- Each other. Wagner advised Tunsil. Hopkins credited longtime advisers.
How Leave fits
Leave is for the business side of an athlete's career at every level, and it is built for the one doing the job themselves. Upload any contract and each part is explained in plain words with the dates and the money laid out; the deadlines are on a countdown; every deal and its terms stay in one record. Leave takes 0% and does not negotiate, represent or sign for anyone. On a pro playing contract the player, or a certified agent, speaks to the club; Leave is what the player reads first.
Questions players ask
Can a rookie negotiate his own NFL contract?
Yes. Lamar Jackson did in 2018, and since the 2011 rookie wage scale slotted first contracts, the AP reported that more players skip the commission and have a lawyer vet the terms once a deal is reached. Teams cannot negotiate with an uncertified representative, which reportedly slowed Caleb Williams's 2024 deal when lawyers were involved.
How does a player tell the league he has no agent?
Under CBA Article 9, a player is an Unrepresented Player for free agency if he has no certified contract advisor and submits written verification of that status to the NFL and the NFLPA no later than five days before the league year starts. During the two-day negotiating period he may then speak directly with a club's front office, but not its coaches; the club is responsible for confirming his status.
Can a player's family member or lawyer negotiate with the team?
Only if certified by the NFLPA. The regulations allow no one other than a certified contract advisor or the player himself to negotiate, with no exception for family or lawyers, and a club that negotiates with an uncertified person is fined. About 62% of NFL agents are attorneys; a lawyer who wants to negotiate gets certified like anyone else.
How much does an NFL agent take?
At most 3% of the compensation for each season of the contract the agent negotiated. The standard representation agreement defaults to 1.5% unless both sides initial a higher rate. Lower caps apply to one-year tenders: 2% for a first franchise or transition tag or an RFA tender, 1.5% for a second tag, 1% for a third. The fee counts salary and signing, reporting and roster bonuses received, not Pro Bowl or All-Pro bonuses, and is paid only after the player is paid.
What does the NFLPA do for a player with no agent?
It says it does not recommend teams or deals but provides comparative data, analysis and CBA guidance. It reviewed Russell Okung's process in 2016 and helped Richard Sherman collect a $2 million roster bonus. Its public free agency dashboard lists each free agent, their agent and new club; fuller salary reports require a player login.
Be your own agent. Leave.