While there may have been no players from the area taken in last week’s NFL Draft, one agent from Odessa was a part of this year’s event.
Last week, NFL Agent and Associate Attorney for Sarabia Law Firm Felix Neboh’s first client, SMU offensive lineman Jaylon Thomas, got signed by the Baltimore Ravens.
Neboh, who played football at Permian and at the collegiate level at UTEP, is in his second year of being an agent. However, this was his first year working with a client.
“This is my only one,” Neboh said. “This is my first one, representing by myself, that’s why I’m really excited about this one.”
Thomas, who comes from Lubbock, played his high school ball at Coronado High School, graduating in 2018.
He was a three-star recruit after helping Coronado go 13-1 in 2017 which included a trip to the Class 5A Division I quarterfinal round of the playoffs.
As a senior in 2022, Thomas made All-Conference Honorable Mention for the American Athletic Conference and was on the Senior Bowl Watch List, helping the Mustangs to a 7-6 record which included a trip to the New Mexico Bowl against BYU.
He was signed as an undrafted free agent shortly after the conclusion of the draft last Saturday.
Neboh discussed the process of how he and Thomas met up.
“How it works, with agents, you have to recruit, kind of like with how college coaches recruit kids, that’s about what we do as agents,” Neboh said. “It’s one of those instances where colleges in Texas such as Texas, SMU, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, etc. They all have agent days. So, it’s set up through the school. They send you a list of players that are eligible for that year’s draft. Then you submit requests to meet players that you like. If the players accept, then you get an interview.”
That’s how it happened with Thomas.
It also helped when Neboh mentioned that he wasn’t far from Lubbock.
“He accepted the interview and I talked to him and found out that he’s from Lubbock and told him that I wasn’t too far from him in Odessa,” Neboh said. “That was kind of the icebreaker with both of us being familiar with the area and stuff like that. Fast forward to the end of the season, it made sense for both of us and I signed him and that’s where we are today.”
For Neboh, who’s never wanted to fully walk away from football, getting the chance to be an agent helped make him involve with the league.
“When I didn’t get the opportunity to play in the NFL, I started brainstorming ways to still be a part of the NFL and get to be around the game that I have a passion for,” Neboh said. “I thought I could definitely be an agent. It allows me to be around football and the NFL. It’s something that I’m passionate about.”
However, it’s not easy juggling a job as a sports agent while also working as an attorney.
It’s not uncommon for him to be on the phone with the different teams. He’ll often get calls in the middle of court and have to step out.
“It’s certainly challenging at times,” Neboh said. “This past draft, I was getting calls from teams while I was in court. I was having to juggle both. It can get challenging from that standpoint where you have to step out and talk to a team for a little bit. I think that’s the most challenging part.”
Thankfully, his boss, Daniel Sarabia Jr., understands.
“My boss here at the law firm has been really understanding of it and more so encouraging and hasn’t hindered my ability to do both,” Neboh said. “I’m really appreciative of him and his support.”
Neboh traveled north to Lubbock to be with Thomas and his family during the draft where the day consisted of, as one might guess, being on the phone almost non-stop with other teams.
“It was different for me because it was my first draft with my own player to myself,” Neboh said. “Being that I’m the primary contact for calls, it was almost surreal in a sense. You’re talking to so many teams before the draft. I talked to about 15 teams and asked where they ranked Jaylon at. He was projected to get drafted on Day 3.”
During that day, Neboh’s phone was blowing up where every second was crucial.
“All these teams are trying to potentially get your athlete to come to them,” Neboh said. “You have a split second to make a decision. I was telling Jaylon what other teams were saying about him.”
Finally, the Ravens called and said that if Thomas didn’t get drafted, they would want to bring him in, provided the price was right.
“You’re really talking and explaining it in the span of a few seconds,” Neboh said. “If you take too long to commit to a team, they move on to the next player. We had to find the best option for Jaylon and making sure that, financially, the situation works as well. That’s the most hectic thing about draft weekend.”
Thomas was a versatile lineman at SMU, starting in all five positions on the offensive line over the 2022 season including center.
“I’m really excited for him because on the outside looking in, fans see this big player signing with this team but they don’t see the work that goes into it from the player behind the scenes,” Neboh said. “A lot of people don’t know that the way the structure works, the player declares for the draft and goes to workout for 6-8 weeks. Then the pro day comes.
But a torn labrum that required surgery after last season made things a little hectic.
“Right after the season, Jaylon had surgery so there was a lot up in the air because we didn’t know if he would be able to compete at Pro Day,” Neboh said. “He had surgery in December. Those were things we had to discuss. … I saw him dedicate himself through the physical therapy and to the point where he got himself back in time for Pro Day to do all the position drills and combine drills.”
Being his agent, Neboh says he stays in contact with Thomas.
“I know he’s busy but I try to make sure we’re speaking about something,” Neboh said. “I make sure that there’s never more than three days where we haven’t spoken to each other. He’s busy and I’m busy but at the same time, I have to make sure he knows that he’s being taken care of. It’s pretty frequent that I’m in touch with him. It’s not every day but almost every day.”
The next step for Thomas is leaving for rookie training camp this week before the long wait for the official team training camp to begin in July.
After that, comes the fight to make the 53-man roster.
“It’s a few days,” Neboh said of the rookie training camp. “He’ll be there through the weekend. It’s basically about getting all the rookies on that team acclimated and what the system is going to be and what training camp will be like in July. Then, he’ll fly back to Dallas and make sure he’s staying in shape before training camp starts in July.”
For every good agent, there’s bound to be a few shady ones and athletes always have to be aware to avoid signing a bad agent and losing money.
Neboh has a few words of advice for players looking to get an agent.
“I want athletes to remember that they make sure they take the time to get to know their agents and know what he/she is and what they stand for simply because you hear a lot about some agents that don’t get the best reputations,” Neboh said. “For me, as a former athlete, I’d make sure that the players know about their agents’ history and track record and not just go with the first person they see.”
For Neboh, he described the athlete-agent relationship as a marriage.
“You’re not going to run and marry the first person that comes your way,” Neboh said. “You have to take the time to know who they are and make sure they know who you are and not just use you for money. That would be my advice to future athletes. There are a lot of good agents and a lot of bad ones. You want to make sure that everything makes sense. You only get one shot to make it and breakthrough in this league.”
