FORT WORTH, Texas — Standing on the side of a practice field in late April, watching a training session for eight college defensive linemen they represent, Jacob Piasecki and Francesco Tricomi are discussing a topic they relish: people who can’t stand them.

“NFL agents have no f—ing clue how to do this,” Tricomi said.

Piasecki, 29, is the co-founder of A&P Sports Agency, an Austin-based company born five years ago at the dawn of college sports’ current era of chaos, and Tricomi, 26, is his director of operations. In just a few years, agencies such as A&P have barged into college sports like profane party crashers. They’re lamented by college coaches and general managers and resented by their NFL peers, who say they’re accountable to no one.

Without a central governing body or players union, NIL agents – who represent college athletes in financial deals involving revenue sharing and name, image and likeness rights that give the space its catch-all acronym – operate with little-to-no certification in an unfettered environment.

They can charge much larger fees than the 3 percent allowed by the NFLPA. Some shop players they haven’t even met. Some flood the Instagram DMs of high school prospects. Some push players to transfer who aren’t looking to transfer — so that the agency can get a cut of a new deal the player wasn’t even seeking.

Piasecki has landed on a one-word philosophy to describe the two industries — college football and athlete representation — his company helped reshape: discretionary.

“There’s no real rules,” he said. “So everybody is doing things at their own discretion.”

For those who have spent long careers representing athletes, the approach of the class of agents unleashed by NIL is maddening, if not a threat to their industry.

“You’re either an agent or you’re not,” said Buddy Baker, a longtime NFL agent. “You don’t get to just declare yourself an agent if you don’t have an expertise in this field. … Unfortunately, in this space right now, we don’t have any (oversight). People are just planting their flag and saying, ‘I am an agent.’”

“It’s bastardizing our profession, for sure,” said one longtime NFL agent, who like others interviewed for this story spoke on condition of anonymity in exchange for their candor.

“These guys, they’re not agents at all,” added another. “I’m trying to go through some handler who has no f—ing clue what my world is or what we’re doing. And he’s like, ‘How much money can you get them?’”

The 20-somethings at A&P have come to wear disparagement as a badge of honor, and there’s no denying their foothold: In the past college football transfer portal cycle, according to A&P, the agency negotiated more than $30 million in player contracts and many millions more in marketing deals.

“There’s certain things that I look for in people that even agents that have been doing whatever professional sport for 10, 15 years can’t match,” Tricomi said on the sideline of the practice field. “There’s no experience in this. That’s why we’re outperforming NFL agents in NIL right now.”

“You’re getting your ass handed to you by somebody who wasn’t even in this f—ing world five years ago,” Piasecki replied.

“If they didn’t hate us,” Tricomi added, “we were doing something wrong.”

Both Piasecki and Stefan Aguilera, three years his senior, ran businesses as undergrads at Texas A&M — Piasecki a social app for college students, Aguilera an online publication titled The Aggazine that effectively served as a marketing agency. Bars paid Aguilera to post their specials, which led to him becoming a promoter, which led to him hanging out with football players. He got them in campus clubs cover-free; they attracted more people to the clubs.

It was an Aggies tight end, Jalen Wedemeyer, who first told Aguilera about the sea change coming to college football: It would finally be permissible to pay players for use of their name, image and likeness. Would he want to help out with some marketing deals? For Aguilera, a light bulb went off. He asked Piasecki if he wanted to start a broader business representing athletes.

“S—,” Piasecki said. “I see dollar signs.”

They launched A&P on July 1, 2021, the first day college athletes could legally profit from NIL.

At first, Piasecki said, “there was no f—ing dollar signs.”

At that point, NIL reps were essentially marketing firms. Players inked deals with local businesses and promoted them on social media or in commercials. “Other agents were very dismissive,” Piasecki said. “No one took NIL seriously back then. In ’23, ’24, it was still looked down upon, as a joke.”

How we established ourselves in the NIL Space pic.twitter.com/qDtoY4VJxT

— Jacob.Piasecki (@Jacob_Piasecki_) June 27, 2023

But the world changed in June 2025 when a court ruling enabled schools to pay athletes directly through revenue sharing. The term “NIL agent” became a misnomer — most make more negotiating contracts with schools than on actual name, image and likeness deals. A&P said it negotiated $12 million in contracts in 2024. The firm said it just surpassed $30 million in 2026, including a deal for an SEC left tackle for $2.75 million.

Matt Brownstein saw the shift coming. A longtime baseball agent for CAA, perhaps the most powerful sports agency on the planet, he left for A&P in January, wanting the opportunity to shape an industry and build something new without constraints. “I know Congress is trying to get involved, but there’s really no rules to this,” Brownstein said. “And I kind of enjoy the chaos.”

Plenty have deemed it “the Wild West.” Several agents, coaches, and general managers cited the practice of pitching a player to schools before he’s even aware he’s being marketed: Self-proclaimed agents will call a program, gauge its interest, and set the price. The agents then will take that price to the player — whom they have never met — and guarantee the deal if he signs with them and enters the portal.

“Every agent is going to go after everybody’s guys,” Piasecki said. “It’s not like we have this creed where it’s like, ‘Don’t go after our players.’ Everyone is always trying to get other people’s players. I just think if your client is happy, they’re not going to explore options.”

Some stories stretch beyond lawlessness into absurdity. In early July, Noah Reisenfeld, an NIL agent with a prominent social media presence, sued the agency Young Money AAPA — co-founded by rapper Lil Wayne — for breach of contract, alleging they treated him as an employee rather than an independent contractor, and directed him to represent NFL players despite not having NFLPA certification. (In the lawsuit, Reisenfeld described himself as “a pioneer” and “passionately motivated.”) Young Money filed a counterclaim, which included allegations that Reisenfeld smoked marijuana inside a Florida home the agency rented and “left his dog’s feces all over the Property.”

Lawmakers have taken note. The Protect College Sports Act — backed by both the Big Ten and SEC earlier this month — includes a section devoted to college agents. It caps their fees at 5 percent, prevents them from signing players beyond their college eligibility and bars them from misrepresenting themselves or making false promises about future contracts.

As it stands now, a handful of states require potential agents to join a registry with minimal effort — fingerprints, an annual fee. But there is no central clearinghouse or competency standard. The result: mayhem for coaches and general managers, who often receive calls from different people claiming to represent the same player. Boston College coach Bill O’Brien said he spoke with around 75 agents during the last portal cycle alone.

The vast majority of players and their families lack the experience and savvy to navigate the subtleties of the transfer portal. Several coaches and general managers expressed concern that they may be entrusting their futures to agents with similar naivety.

“When one player comes here, he’s like, ‘Yeah, I’m talking to him and him and him,’” Nebraska GM Pat Stewart said. “They’re talking to multiple different agents to try to get advice without signing a deal with them. That becomes kind of a chaotic situation as well.”

After Colorado State changed coaches this offseason, GM Alex Collins struck a deal with one of the players who’d entered the portal. “He goes, ‘OK, I think I’m gonna fire my agent. I don’t need one now,’” Collins said. “I’m like, ‘OK, that’s not how agencies work.’”

At Boston College, O’Brien instituted an agent education program for players. He had seen too many players taken advantage of by the people hired to protect their financial interests. Reisenfeld said in a YouTube interview last year that the standard fee charged by NIL agents is 20 percent. Depending on a player’s situation, Piasecki said, A&P charges between 7 and 10 percent.

“You pay the kid 100 grand,” O’Brien said. “You say to the kid, ‘What are you paying this agent?’ And he says, like, 10-15 percent on a $100,000 contract that that particular agent didn’t do anything for. That’s crazy.”

During one transfer cycle, Virginia Tech general manager Andy Frank received an email from an agent with a list of players looking to enter the portal. One was on his roster. “We talked to the player. He’s like, ‘I had no idea he was doing that,’” Frank said. “I believe him.

“I want to be sure I’m not the guy who says, ‘Oh, all these agents are bad.’ Because they’re not,” Frank added. “There’s a lot of them that are doing a good job for their clients. … The things that really get to you is when they’re doing things that their clients don’t necessarily want or aren’t interested in.”

The lack of transparency creates other issues. Every NFL agent can look up any contract in the NFLPA’s database, effectively making the deals public. For NIL, no such reporting exists.

“There’s a guy I used to work with,” one longtime NFL agent said. “He loves NIL because he sucks as an agent, and (now) he’ll never get exposed.”

Experienced agents have had to relearn parts of their job and find new ways to approach it. One joked about buying shaving kits for high school players.

“Nothing feels right about what you’re doing,” he said. “But you’re doing it to make a living.”

This agent resisted dipping into the NIL space until a client he had signed — a player who would’ve been a top-100 pick in last spring’s NFL Draft — decided to stay in college. “So he gets a seven-figure deal and I get paid on that NIL deal, and I’m like, ‘Gosh, dude, that’s so much money. And it’s so much easier.’”

It’s late April. Piasecki lounges on a couch inside a western wear shop on the main drag of Fort Worth’s stockyards, holding a can of Montucky Cold Snack. A handful of A&P clients are perusing the merchandise — caiman skin boots, oversized belt buckles — after a day of training. A defensive end A&P steered from UNLV to Virginia asks if he can buy a belt. A defensive tackle who transferred from Texas to UConn tries on a black cowboy hat and makes finger guns in the mirror.

A videographer captures it all, footage that will later flood A&P’s social media feeds.

An NIL deal isn’t merely quick cash for an athlete; it’s a vital promotional tool for an agency. The landing page of A&P’s website features a video of former USC wideout Brenden Rice (Jerry’s son) driving a Ferrari. Its Instagram feed is dotted with videos of players shopping at Johnny Dang and Co., the famous Houston jeweler.

The glimmering pieces they’re showing off? The players don’t actually own them. A&P buys the jewelry for them to wear, then returns it at the end of their contract unless the player chooses to buy it. Rivals whisper that A&P is fooling its clients into thinking they own jewelry worth five figures.

“They can hate all day if they want,” Tricomi said. “Guys love it. We love it. A lot of them are trying to replicate it.”

A&P insists they buy the jewelry with the players’ best interest in mind: Rather than the players blowing money on expensive baubles, the agency can effectively rent it for them.

“We can scratch that itch for them so they don’t start a bad habit with all that spending,” Tricomi said. “It’s good promotion for us. That’s a whole other network. (Jeweler) Johnny Dang is like a cornerstone of hip-hop, so the kids, they love him.”

In many ways, A&P has matured alongside the industry, creating its own limits rather than testing them. A&P partnered with high-profile lawyer Tony Buzbee, another Texas A&M alum, whose firm handles legal issues and contractual details. It teamed with a financial adviser to create a “financial fitness playbook” for clients. The firm’s leaders bemoan practices such as agents selling players they’ve never met, and they say they don’t recruit high schoolers. This spring, in an expansion of their services, A&P paid for training sessions for clients, grouped by position, with well-known skills coaches. (The resulting online content juiced their recruiting efforts.) They see NFL representation as part of their future, and already they have shifted focus to help as many clients as possible reach the league.

“For us, it’s more so, what is the best fit for the player?” Piasecki said. “In combination with the money and the playing time, the scheme, the coaching staff – does it all align and get him to where he wants to be?

“As a fan, you don’t see that. As a fan, you probably think we’re the biggest assholes because we destroyed your team. We just annihilated your O-line room or your D-line room.”

It’s not just fans. In late May, Piasecki paced across a conference room in a half-filled office building by a highway on the outskirts of Austin and dialed the general manager of a Power 4 school.

“The man, the myth, the legend!” the GM answered.

Piasecki checked in on clients who played at the school, got a tip about an emerging player who needed representation and chatted about the school’s chances this fall. Then the general manager delivered some gossip.

“People have s— to say about y’all,” the general manager said. “And people try to badmouth y’all.”

As much as their business has boomed, A&P retains a degree of fake-it-till-you-make-it energy. A day after speaking with the Power 4 GM, Piasecki sends an Instagram direct message to the prospect he recommended.

“Love your game,” he writes. “I just finished watching your tape with our scouting department. Are you available to connect on a call?”

Piasecki looks up from his phone, about to say something he swears he usually wouldn’t. But time is of the essence, and Will Scott, the agent who comprises A&P’s scouting operation, is on a road trip.

“If he responds,” he says, “I’ll watch his tape.”

Back in the summer of 2021, Ohio State called its football players in for a series of meetings. The agenda was the financial opportunities now before them: endorsement deals, sponsorships, other means of revenue long barred by the NCAA. Inside the room, some started to speculate how much the Buckeyes’ most recent quarterback, Justin Fields, would have made under NIL.

“Someone mentioned $1 million,” said Zen Michalski, a freshman offensive tackle at the time. “And we were all like, ‘What!?!’”

Today, top-tier quarterbacks make up to six times that.

“I was the starting quarterback for a small Division II school,” vented one longtime NFL agent. “And NIL was meant for me to not have to pay for my cheeseburger and fries and milkshake at Grumpy’s. It’s not meant to make kids freaking multimillionaires and become a profit share.”

But, thanks in large part to revenue sharing, that’s exactly what it’s become, an arms race devoid of guardrails.

Michalski fired his first agency after it pushed him to transfer from Ohio State before he was ready. “I want to graduate first,” he told them. So he stayed in Columbus, earned his degree and helped the Buckeyes win a national championship. A year later, repped by a new agency, he took less money to sign with Indiana because he felt it was the best fit. In January, he added a second national championship.

“You have to be really, really careful,” Michalski said. “Some agents will come in and act like they want what’s best for you. They want the quickest paycheck.”

The money flowing into college sports, particularly football, isn’t slowing down. Those who saw dollar signs early are cashing in. Piasecki was back in his office the morning of May 27, hours after lawmakers rolled out the Protect College Sports Act that Congress continues to debate. He wondered whether an antitrust exemption would hold up in court if it capped athletes’ salaries without collective bargaining.

He noted that college football actually once had a salary cap of sorts — a college education, plus room and board, for every scholarship player — and for decades most every serious program in the sport circumvented that agreement through widespread under-the-table payments.

“How do you fix a system,” Piasecki asked, “when the system is based on not following the rules?”

The New York Jets are through 10 training camp practices (two of them joint) and one preseason game. There’s plenty of time to get a better feel about where the roster stands, who is most likely to stick around and who is on thin ice.

Here’s a stab at the 53-man roster in the wake of Friday night’s preseason opener against the Buccaneers:

Quarterback (2)

In: Geno Smith, Cade Klubnik
Out: Bailey Zappe, Brady Cook

Klubnik showed some poise in his debut. I was surprised he didn’t get more reps since he’s a rookie, but he’ll also get plenty of reps in the last two preseason games. As for Zappe and Cook, neither showed anything to indicate they’re serious threats to push Klubnik for the backup job behind Smith (who is day-to-day with ankle soreness, by the way).

I still wouldn’t rule out Darren Mougey adding a veteran quarterback to the room at some point, but I don’t personally find that to be the absolute necessity that others might. Bringing in someone like Will Levis wouldn’t seem to do much for the 2026 Jets.

Running Back (4)

In: Breece Hall, Braelon Allen, Isaiah Davis, Kene Nwangwu
Out: Andrew Beck, Chip Trayanum, Sam Scott

Hall will be the bell-cow, and Davis’s injury makes it likely Allen will emerge as the clear-cut No. 2 option behind him. Davis will still have a role, but Allen has had a good summer (again) and looked impressive in the preseason game, especially on a 31-yard touchdown run. The Jets like Beck both for his blocking and special-teams role, so it wouldn’t be shocking if he ultimately stuck around.

Wide Receiver (6)

In: Garrett Wilson, Adonai Mitchell, Omar Cooper Jr., Isaiah Williams, Tim Patrick, Arian Smith
Out: Malik McClain, Caullin Lacy, Jamaal Pritchett, Cam Camper, DT Sheffield

Williams has clearly jumped ahead of Cooper on the depth chart. It’s far too early to panic, and Cooper showed some things in the preseason game that indicate his skill set is better suited for games than practices, where contact is limited. Wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson did have an interesting quote about Cooper last week: “Omar is doing fine. I got on him because last week he had some pitfalls, and that’s being a rookie; it’s camp days. You’re not used to all the drag and the mundaneness of it. But that kid is going to be all right.”

As for the rest of the group, Patrick was playing with the backups on Friday. That usually isn’t a great indication for a veteran player, but this coaching staff does value the veteran presence he brings, and he can be useful as a blocker. There aren’t really any viable backup outside receivers currently in the room unless the Jets really believe in undrafted rookie Malik McClain, who has had some moments.

Smith’s issues with drops don’t appear to have healed with time. He had a drop on Friday that he deflected into the arms of a Buccaneers defensive back for an interception. His only shot at sticking around the roster is on special teams — and maybe the juice of being a fourth-round pick a year ago saves him.

Pritchett has played well both as a returner and receiver this summer, but I’m just not sure where his place is on the roster. Maybe a returner-needy team might be willing to trade a draft pick.

Tight End (4)

In: Mason Taylor, Kenyon Sadiq, Jeremy Ruckert, Jelani Woods
Out: Chase Curtis, Connor Hulstein

Sadiq should be back at some point in the next couple of weeks, and this tight end room will be full. I’m of the mind that Woods is safe at this point — both because of the way coaches talk about him and because he’s such a unique player. This feels like one of the best position groups on the roster — when was the last time you could say that?

Offensive Line (9)

In: Olu Fashanu, Armand Membou, Joe Tippmann, Dylan Parham, Josh Myers, Chukwuma Okorafor, Max Mitchell, Xavier Newman, Anez Cooper
Out: Landon Young, Kohl Levao, Courtland Ford, Liam Fornadel, Marquis Hayes

I have serious concerns about the state of the center position if Myers goes down. The Jets could theoretically move Tippmann back over, but he hasn’t practiced at center all summer. Newman has been the primary backup and he’s had some snapping issues. I’m not sure what quality of center will be available on the waiver wire post-camp, but it’s something worth keeping an eye on.

Cooper flashed some serious potential on Friday, albeit with the third unit. He didn’t allow a single pressure or sack in 20 pass blocking snaps and PFF had him graded as the Jets’ best offensive lineman.

Defensive Tackle (5)

In: T’Vondre Sweat, Harrison Phillips, David Onyemata, Jowon Briggs, Darrell Jackson
Out: Payton Page, Mazi Smith, Jack Heflin, Junior Tafuna, Ben Barten

Sweat was activated off the Non-Football Injury list and should return to practice in the near future, a boon considering his importance to the fabric of this defensive line. Jackson has flashed throughout the summer and could play a rotational role as a rookie even with four solid veterans ahead of him.

Both Page and Heflin have also had moments this summer and should stick around on the practice squad.

Outside Linebacker (4, plus one on PUP)

In: David Bailey, Will McDonald, Joe Ossai, Kingsley Enagbare
Out: Braiden McGregor, Kingsley Jonathan, Nathan Voorhis, Paschal Ekeji
PUP: Tyler Baron

This group has been banged up all summer, which is the main reason I nearly had McGregor sticking around yet again. Enagbare has been in and out of the lineup and Ossai has yet to practice. Bailey, if you haven’t heard, has looked like a budding star already. McDonald had a sack against the Bucs; it seems like Bailey is already drawing enough attention that it could clear the way for a nice season for McDonald.

Inside Linebacker (5)

In: Demario Davis, Jamien Sherwood, Kiko Mauigoa, Mykal Walker, Marcelino McCrary-Ball
Out: Chase Wilson, Jaden Keller

This might be the most concerning spot on the roster depth-wise. Walker has made some plays this summer — he has intercepted a couple passes in practice — but both he and McCrary-Ball are primarily special-teams players. If either Davis or Sherwood were to go down, the Jets would be in trouble here.

Cornerback (7)

In: Brandon Stephens, Azrareye’h Thomas, Nahshon Wright, Jarvis Brownlee, D’Angelo Ponds, Qwan’Tez Stiggers, Mory Bamba
Out: Tre Brown, Jordan Clark, Samuel Womack

Seven cornerbacks is a lot — maybe too many — but Bamba showed enough on Friday night that I couldn’t keep him off. Sure, it was against the Buccaneers’ backups, but he flashed some real potential and his unique blend of size (6-2) and athleticism makes him especially intriguing. Bamba had two pass deflections and only allowed four receptions on 10 targets.

“I think some of the younger DBs showed up and he’s the one that really stands out,” Jets head coach Aaron Glenn said after the game.

Both Wright and Stiggers were out, which gave Bamba reps with the second unit. Clark also played well and will push for a spot on the practice squad again.

Safety (4, plus one on IR)

In: Minkah Fitzpatrick, Dane Belton, Andre Cisco, Malachi Moore
Out: Jarius Monroe, Dean Clark
IR: VJ Payne

Belton clearly deserves to be starting over Cisco at this point. It has been a disappointing summer for Moore, who the Jets were very high on a year ago. He ran with the third-team defense on Friday and didn’t make a dent — he hasn’t stuck out much in practice either. His roster spot is still safe, but I’m not sure how much of a role he’ll have this season.

Payne was on a good track before an injury knocked him out for a few weeks. The NFL allows teams to designate two players for injured reserve prior to final cuts with a designation to return, and he feels like a candidate for one of those spots.

Special Teams (3)

In: K Jason Sanders, P Austin McNamara, LS Thomas Hennessy
Out: K Cade York

York and Sanders have gone back and forth. On Friday, York made two short field goals but the second was questionable while Sanders nailed a 47-yarder. Sanders was iffy in the joint practices but has overall been the better kicker and has a longer history of NFL production.

Tottenham have accepted a loan offer from Juventus for goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, which includes an option to buy.

The Italy international, 29, is set to travel to Turin to complete a move back to Serie A, with a non-mandatory £8.6m purchase option included in the deal.

It follows Juventus’ attempts to sign Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, which has collapsed as Villa close in on signing Parma’s Zion Suzuki.

Martinez was known to have an injured finger and is currently unavailable for selection.

Vicario, meanwhile, lost his place in the Spurs side under manager Roberto de Zerbi, who promoted understudy Antonin Kinsky to the role last season.

De Zerbi has since confirmed Kinsky will remain his first-choice goalkeeper for the new season, with Martin Dubravka signed on a free transfer from Burnley in July to provide competition and cover.

It is part of a club record spending spree by the north London club, who have signed six players while targeting two further attacking additions.

They have also sold, loaned out or released several former first-team players, including captain Cristian Romero, England international Djed Spence and Yves Bissouma.

Vicario made 117 appearances for Spurs after joining from Empoli for £17.2m in 2023.