Athletes First directs clients to refuse to submit to S2 or other cognitive testing

It's about time.

After years of the NFL and its teams failing to properly secure and/or characterize the results of pre-draft cognitive testing of incoming players, a prominent agency has informed all teams that its clients have been instructed to refuse to submit this year.

Kalyn Kahler of TheAthletic.com reports that Athletes First sent an email last month explaining the agency's position.

“After much internal discussion, the agents at Athletes First have directed our draft prospects to respectfully pass on participating in any cognitive or psychological testing during the pre-draft process (e.g. AIQ, S2, etc.),” the email said, per Kahler.

"We understand that many of your teams use these tests or protocols as part of your prospect evaluation process, however our recent experience with these exams has been less than positive. Specifically, the fact that certain results and performance were leaked publicly last year demonstrates that there truly is no confidentiality with these tests. It is not right for a player’s intelligence, aptitude or mental processing to be subject to public discussion and ridicule — no other job interview carries the same scrutiny. . . . While our clients are happy to participate in the standard pre-draft physical activities and any football-based interviews or film review, we will not subject them to the wide variety of psychological tests.”

The NFL and its teams have failed to secure the results of cognitive testing for years, starting most frequently with the Wonderlic test. In 2023, however, someone blabbed about Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud's performance on the S2 test. Stroud reportedly did very poorly. His play in 2023 suggests that the S2 test is not a reliable indicator of on-field capabilities and decision-making. That seems to have been the catalyst for the agency's position as to its 2024 clients.

Hopefully, every other agency will follow Athletes First's lead. Players are subjected every year to unreasonable intrusions and invasions of privacy that have questionable relevance, if any, to a player's prospects. Players are expected to go along, by the league, the media, and fans, because we've all been brainwashed into thinking it's "an honor and a privilege" for a player to be drafted.

Bullshit.

It's an honor and a privilege for the teams to have the ability to call dibs on highly-talented employees who will help the teams win football games. As I've argued many times in the past, there should be no draft; players should be allowed to pick their first NFL teams, the same way that they pick their colleges.

While it's far too late to get rid of the draft, it's not too late for the players to take a stand and refuse to do certain things that just don't matter — especially if the NFL and its teams will leak information to media members who will breach the privacy interests of those individuals.

Kudos to Athletes First for doing this. Every other agency is now on the clock.