ESPN NFL

Just as the 255 prospects selected in last month's draft come in all shapes and sizes, so do the firms that will represent them in their first NFL contract negotiations, and that was again demonstrated in the results of the seventh annual ESPN.com agent draft derby.

After ranking in the top 10 in five of the last six years, including three straight second-place finishes (2001-2003) and a No. 4 performance in 2005, Sportstars, the Manhattan-based firm headed by veterans Alan Herman and Brian Mackler, but also featuring five other agents as well, captured its first title. Finishing second, and notching his fourth top 10 berth in five years, was Joel Segal.

There were 15 agencies this year that amassed at least 20 points each, up from 13 firms in 2005, and 17 firms had five or more clients selected through the seven rounds. Points are scored on a descending basis, with seven points awarded for a first-round selection, six for a second-rounder, down to one point for a prospect in the seventh round. Among the agencies finishing in the top 15 were companies ranging from one-man operations, to firms owned and operated by global conglomerates, to everything in between.

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