All Access Football Combine Coverage
Keep it locked for boots on the ground coverage of the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine from Indianapolis.
AAF Combine Coverage — Presented By Sports Management Worldwide. Join AAF in Indy for the SMWW Football Career Conference & Inside The League Combine Seminar!
NFL SCOUTING COMBINE — BOOTS ON THE GROUND COVERAGE
For everyone in the eye of the storm, stay safe, buckle up, hunker down and keep it locked for can’t stop, won’t stop coverage of the NFL Scouting Combine!
INSIDE THE LEAGUE BEST NFL DRAFT AWARD
The ITL Combine Seminar Best NFL Draft Award will be presented on Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 5:30p ET at the Indiana Convention Center (Room 205) during the NFL Combine.
MORE INFO ON INSIDE THE LEAGUE COMBINE SEMINAR
Believe it or not, it’s here: the 2026 NFL Combine. What once was a fun time to meet up with friends and colleagues in Indianapolis has now become the most pivotal week of the year for us at Inside the League.
First things first. Let’s start with the basics.
2026 Ellison Kibler at Merrill Lynch ITL Seminar
Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 5:30 p.m sharp
Indiana Convention Center, 100 South Capitol Avenue
Rooms 205-206
Seats are limited.
Free to attend, no registration necessary.
The highlights: It’s our 17th year holding a free event for people in the game. This year, we’ll have more award winners than ever before, with all the usual ones (Best Draft Award, C.O. Brocato Memorial Award, BART List winners in three categories and more) plus a few more. For example, this year, in addition to honoring the top NFL pro scouting departments, we’ll also honor the top analytics departments. We’ve also split the Best Strength Coach and Best Pro Liaison awards into P4 and G5 categories. Best of all, most award winners will accept their honors in person. We’ve been restricted by space in the past, but for the first time, we’ve gone two rooms so no one gets shut out. We normally host 150-200 active NFL scouts, but this year, we expect to zoom past our previous attendance totals. As always, we’ll have a look at salaries for NFL directors of college scouting and national scouts as an added bonus. All of that and we’ll be done in under an hour. Gordon Whittaker of Ellison Kibler at Merrill Lynch will co-host with ITL’s Neil Stratton. We hope to see you there.
2026 Dropback ITL Symposium
Friday, Feb. 27, 8:30 a.m. sharp
Indiana Convention Center, 100 South Capitol Avenue
Room 205-207
Free to members of all 136 FBS personnel staffs.
For others, $100 for individuals/$400 for agencies (admit six).
Register here; we’ll bill you (if applicable) later.
The highlights: We’re there to network, of course, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have some illuminating conversations, as well. We’ll have an hour of panelists, followed by a half-hour break for networking, then another hour of panelists. This year, we’ll have three NIL agents and three GMs on each panel. Confirmed GMs and college executives include Tyler Barnes, GM, Iowa; James Blanchard, GM, Texas Tech (back from 2025); Caleb Davis, GM, San Diego State; Rashad Elby, Director of Football Revenue Sharing Strategy, Virginia Tech; Billy High, GM, Tennessee; and Raj Murti, GM, Oklahoma State. On the agent side, we’ll welcome Shane Costa, Generation Sports Group; Chris Gittings, One West Sports; Miles Jordan, Jordan Sports Group; Luke McMurtrey, Range Sports; Philip “Red” Miller, PM3 Sports; and Will Scott, A&P Sports. We’ve worked hard to have viewpoints from people with backgrounds at the biggest P4 schools and smallest G5 schools; most established NIL agencies and smaller ones; NFL backgrounds as well as college ones; all four P4 conferences; and from all over the nation. We’re excited about having a robust conversation with some candid insights. Luke Bogus of Dropback will co-host with Stratton.
Now let’s cover some frequently asked questions.
So, are you guys having that big NIL networking thing again?: This is the question that drives us crazy, but you, gentle reader of the Wrap, have known the answer to this for weeks. Please help us spread the word.
I can’t make it. Is it being recorded?: No. We at Inside the League have a general policy of not pointing a camera or other recording device at speakers when we’re having honest, candid discussions. So, be there or miss out.
I registered, but don’t have confirmation or any proof of it. What do I do?: Wait. We ask for your contact info so we can confirm your attendance. It’s coming next week. We promise. Questions before that? nstratton@insidetheleague.com.
How many schools will be represented Friday?: As of this morning, we had 31 schools registered, with the overwhelming majority of them P4 schools. Most of the attendees have upper-level titles (GMs, DPPs, scouting and recruiting directors). However, we’ve gotten verbal commitments from even more schools, and we think we have a chance to double our total by Friday. By the way, we had 13 GMs last year. With a week to go, we already have 17 GMs or Assistant GMs registered.
Will the media attend?: Unlike last year, yes, selected media will attend, by popular request. However, like everyone else seated in the audience, those that are there will be nothing more than paying participants interested in the conversation. They’ve assured us they won’t report on what happens Friday morning. So there will be no hot takes, no out-of-context quotes, no social media controversies. Just honest conversation about the state of the game and where it’s going.
Will NFL scouts be there Friday?: Of course. Last year, 13 scouts and executives representing eight teams were represented. This year, already, 12 scouts are registered representing 10 teams, and we’ve still got a week to go.
Who else will be there?: Lots of people, including the men behind two of the top three all-star games, the East-West Shrine Bowl (Eric Galko) and American Bowl (Scott Phillips) and members of their respective staffs. We’ve also invited heads of search firms, consulting firms and wealth management firms in addition to agents and other “football people” of every stripe. If you’re there, we’re confident you’ll fit right in.
What questions will the panelists be asked?: We covered that in last week’s Wrap. We can’t promise that we’ll hold exactly to these 20, but at the least, this should give you an idea of the tenor of the conversation. Got ideas of your own? We’re all ears. Just respond to this email or reach us at nstratton@insidetheleague.com.
Why isn’t Friday free?: Because putting these things together takes money, and we have to defray costs any way we can. So if you’d like to join us, we ask you to pay . . . unless you’re part of an FBS personnel staff, in which case it’s on the house.
I’m going to be a little late. Will I miss anything?: Yes. Both Wednesday and Friday, we’ll start on schedule. In the football world, as much any, time is money. We’ve tried to build some margin into the agenda, but we’ll start on time and end on time.
I’m mainly there Friday just to network. Will I have plenty of time to do that?: Just like last year, we’ve built a half-hour “break” into the middle of our program. We’ve also got the room until midnight. So if you have to leave early, use that half-hour to catch the key people you need to talk to and set something up for later. Or, if you can stay, stick around afterwards for as long as you’d like. We’ll keep the coffee pots full.
Is there walkup registration?: Yes. But you’ll have to pay a little more ($125 v. $100) and there’s no agency fee – everyone must pay individually.
I registered but didn’t see a way to pay. What do I do now?: Wait for us to email you a pay link. We’re seeing a flurry of signups and we’re doing our best to keep up. We promise we’ll get it to you before Friday. Thank you for your patience.
We don’t have to register Wednesday. Why do we have to register for Friday?: We want Friday to be a fully assimilated crowd where everyone knows who’s there and what they do (generally speaking) in the game. Name tags help make that happen.
Still on the fence about coming to Indy? Not sure if it will be worth the cost, time-wise and financially? Does it feel too awkward? The better question is, what happens if you skip opportunities like this one? Can you afford to wait? If you’re still hedging, read this week’s blog at Succeed in Football. There’s still time to find a hotel and a flight. We urge you to get to Indiana.