Suttons Bay grad bullrushes into becoming a NFL agent
GRAND RAPIDS — Forget the percentages and never mind the chances.
Heartland College Sports estimates only 1.6 percent of college football players make it to the National Football League. The odds get even worse for someone coming from Division II with just two years of gridiron experience at that level and just one full season at the position where he was drafted.
Only about 25 percent of those seeking to become a NFL-certified sports agent pass the exam on the first try. The percentages get a little lower for those looking to carve out a new career in their mid-50s.
Every few years, a first-year independent sports agent beats the odds and gets a player drafted into the NFL. When it does happen, the agent often has a prior relationship or is even a blood relative with the prospective professional player.
That was not the case for lawyer David Gregory, a 1987 graduate of Suttons Bay High School, when the Indianapolis Colts selected Northern Michigan University tackle Jake Witt in the seventh round on the third and final day of the 2023 NFL Draft on April 29. The only history the agent and the player shared was a little power of the Upper Peninsula, where Gregory was the starting center for the Wildcats.
“Dave didn’t have any of those things,” said Neil Stratton, who has run Inside the League since 2002 and served as a mentor for Gregory throughout the certification process. “He just went out and did it which makes it doubly impressive.
“It was pure persistence, aggression, a belief in himself and a willingness to be outside his comfort zone.”
If you ask Gregory, sports and football is his comfort zone. A graduate of the Cooley Law School, Gregory’s professional career in politics and lobbying saw him work in the legal office for Gov. John Engler, a Detroit law firm and a 23-year career with Kelley Cawthorne in Lansing, including 15 years as managing partner.
After moving to Grand Rapids more than a decade ago, Gregory decided it was time for something different.
“I don’t know if I got tired of the commute or the job,” said Gregory, who coached some youth football. “I did the same thing with the same people at the same place for 23 years.”
During the pandemic, Gregory decided it was time for a change. He consulted his father, Bill, a longtime area basketball coach who led Suttons Bay to the 1962 state semifinals.
“My dad said, ‘If you think you have one more thing in you, do it,’” Gregory said of his father, who himself became a lawyer later in life. “’You don’t want to look back and say you didn’t go for it.’”
David Gregory knew what would be his next career. He launched Bullrush Sports in January of 2022, took the exam that Stratton said only 25 percent pass on their first try and earned his certification in October of 2022. Gregory said a background check and an advanced degree are required for the exam.
“I missed this,” Gregory said. “I missed being around sports. It would be nice to be around athletics again and I thought I’d do something with it the last part of my career.”
“It’s a really challenging exam that not a lot of people pass the first time and Dave did, which speaks to his willingness to work hard, study hard and pursue this,” said Stratton, who said agents pay $2,500 and get two changes to pass every five years.
Athleticism on display
During the fall of 2021, Gregory attended a Northern Michigan football game against Wayne State. It was the first game after the death of Carl “Buck” Nystrom, who was his line coach with the Wildcats. Gregory saw a 6-foot-7-inch tight end make a great, leaping catch.
In the fall of 2022 at another NMU game, Gregory asked someone about the tight end, who had played basketball at Michigan Tech before transferring to pursue a different major. Gregory found out Witt had been moved to tackle because of injuries at halftime of a game against eventual national champion Ferris State University the prior year and had kept the Bulldogs’ Caleb Murphy, now in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans, in check.
Gregory talked to Witt’s father, also named Bill, who showed him some of his son’s testing numbers. Gregory was blown away by what he saw.
After the NMU football season ended, the new agent sat down with the new prospective NFL player. Like Gregory, Witt hailed from a small town (Bruce Crossing) and played at high school football at a small school (Ewen Trout Creek).
“When we were able to get into contact we did,” Witt said. “We sat down, talked and it went from there. He was a Northern Michigan University football alum. He was from a small school like me and it was a pretty quick process.”
Gregory said Witt, who has run a blazing 40-yard dash time before his collegiate season, clocked a 4.89 at 302 pounds at his pro day at Central Michigan University. Suddenly Witt was surrounded by about 20 scouts at the CMU indoor facility.
“He just exploded onto the scene,” Gregory said. “When he ran his 40, I didn’t watch him, I watched the scouts. They didn’t know a lot about him. They were blown away.”
His time in the 40, his vertical leap and his broad jump would have all been tops for tackles had he went to the NFL Combine.
“As good as his test scores were, his position work was even better,” Gregory said. “He’s got great body control and flexibility for someone that size.”
Gregory said Witt had top 30 visits with the Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns and San Diego Chargers as well as private workouts with the Philadelphia Eagles and Colts. Gregory said he had calls from 15 teams the final day of the draft, several who were perhaps looking to sign Witt as an undrafted free agent.
Remembering the words he heard from Stratton, Gregory told each of the teams the same thing: If you want him, draft him. Finally Colts general manager Chris Ballard did, just after Gregory got a text of exclamation marks from a Indianapolis scout, not knowing it was code that his client was selected.
In a press conference following the draft on YouTube, Ballard said he probably would have drafted Witt just off his workout. Witt was being compared to Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata, who was drafted in the seventh round in 2018 after having played rugby in Australia.
“He’s 6-7, 300 pounds,” Ballard said of Witt in the press conference. “He ran a 4.8; he verticled 37 (inches). He’s got all the athletic traits you look for ... I knew the competition was going to be so heavy after the draft, I said, ‘Screw it, we’re just going to draft him.’”
“When I saw his testing numbers, I said if he can come close to doing that again on his pro day, he was going to be drafted and he did,” Gregory recalled. “He exceeded all of my expectations.
“It just shows the premium (the NFL) puts on athleticism, especially a key position like offensive line.”
Witt signed a four-year contract worth $3,934,820 with the Colts on May 5, according to Overthecap.com. The contract had a signing bonus of $94,820.
“The rookie contract is pretty standard, especially for a seventh-round pick,” Witt said earlier this week from his home in Zionsville, Indiana. “I went to the rookie mini-camp about a week after I was drafted and signed my contract after Dave looked it over.”
Witt was the first NMU player drafted since Mark Maddox in 1991, who played with Gregory. The agent said his client aggravated a hip injury during training camp. The Colts put Witt on injured reserve Aug. 5, meaning he will earn $450,000.
“It’s something that a first-year agent gets a guy drafted and it’s something that a guy who only played one season at his position at Division II gets drafted,” Witt said of his whirlwind spring and summer.
While his playing career is on hold, Witt said Gregory has been building his ‘brand’ and working on social media.
“Dave has a lot of plans to continue to market me,” said Witt. “That’s something he’s really good at.”
Gregory, who can make a maximum of 3 percent from Witt’s contract, signed Witt to endorsements highlighting the “U.P. characteristics” of hard work and grit: UP Health System, Black Rocks Brewery and Stormy Kromer. Black Rocks was two blocks from where Witt lived in Marquette while the trademark Stormy Kromer brand was made in Ironwood, a short distance from Witt’s hometown.
The next step
Gregory now is looking forward to his second NFL Draft class and is actively recruiting and talking to families. He represented four other players this spring, but no one other than Witt was selected. Gregory said Bullrush Sports is a “single shingle” business right now.
Gregory added his focus right now is on the offensive and defensive lines with players with high school and college ties to Michigan.
“That’s my background, my grassroots area,” Gregory said. “I hope to branch out from there, but that’s where I’m starting.”
Stratton said this could be a great niche and the “Dakota corridor” can be overlooked. Stratton did note that after an agent gets a player drafted, “the next step is challenging for Dave and it’s a tough one.”
In August, Gregory did sign a two-year contract to be a regular on “The Huge Show” on the Michigan Sports Network, which can be heard in northern Michigan on several stations.
Host Bill Simonson said Gregory’s contributions on contracts and Name Image and Likeness (NIL) issues have been valuable. Simonson said Gregory’s insight on the contact of dismissed Michigan State University football coach Mel Tucker has been strong.
“We’ve had some real good feedback, incredible,” Simonson said. “I’m really pleased with it; really pleased.
“You get a lawyer with his knowledge of contracts and now an NFL-certified agent with his knowledge of contracts and what it takes to get them done. His stuff has been powerful.”
Simonson said he can see Gregory’s role as an agent expand quickly.
“David has the upside to be a powerful agent, not only in Michigan, but nationally,” Simonson said. “His personality, plus he’s straightforward and honest with no B.S. like I am. I think both athletes and families will be drawn to him.”
And it all started with one Jake Witt and a Northern Michigan University and small town connection.
“All our worlds aligned,” Witt said.
