Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott have shown their great talent at least at some point of time in the league. Thanks to their agency, they supported and helped them to be drafted by the right team in their good old times. But from now on, their agency is taking a major shift. Uh… actually it has already started since last year.

According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, “For the second straight year, the agents at @AthletesFirst notified all 32 NFL teams today their draft-eligible clients will “respectfully pass” on any cognitive or psychological assessments, sources say. The agency led the charge on players refraining from such tests in 2024.”

So, this means the NFL draft prospects represented by Athletes First will not partake in any of the league’s cognitive and psychological assessments. As Garafolo mentioned, it will be the second time Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott’s agency have taken this decision. And it’s more likely that they will continue with it in the future.

But why? What’s the reason behind the Athletes First agency doing so? Well, Garafolo tried to answer this in his follow-up post on social media. This time, he wrote: “The agency cited past experience with publicly leaked results as reasoning for refraining from such tests. The firm said their clients will participate in pre-draft physical activities and football-based interviews and film review.”

So, as per the NFL insider, the leak of information about the players is the main reason the Athletes First agency is taking this step. They want to keep the players’ information safe and private. But is it the only reason?

Aaron Rodgers’s agency threw light on the issue

Remember in 2023, CJ Stroud scored 18 out of 100 in an S2 test? Yes! Just 18. That astonishing news leaked on the internet. But here’s the catch. It later emerged that the online information was false. It’s because, as per Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus, all players of that draft “scored really, really well.”

But the news was already out by then. When it was asked to Stroud, he firmly stated, “I’m not a test taker. I play football. … The people who are making the picks know what I can do. So that’s all that matters to me. … I know what I can do.” And he did it! Despite the rumored low score, the Houston Texans drafted the 23-year-old. In his rookie year, he helped the team reach the playoffs and win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award too.

Now, if you are still wondering what exactly the S2 test is, let us clarify it for you. The S2 test is actually one of several cognitive tests. Its purpose is to measure an athlete’s mental processing skills rather than intelligence. It helps evaluate how quickly and effectively a player can process information, react, and decide under pressure. The NFL does this test during their Draft process. But, as we mentioned earlier, Stroud has already shown it’s not reliable (if it was the truth).

So, Athletes First’s decision not to allow its players to go for this test could also be because of its arguably unreliable results. Nevertheless, per the current scenario, Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott’s Athletes First are voicing out one major reason. And that is – the leak of information.

Talking about it, the agency equipped they understand the process. But, “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.”

Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott came up as the draft prospects in 2005 and 2016, respectively. They reportedly had to undergo the process. But now this agency thinks their clients are happy to not participate in such cognitive assessments. Beyond these two players, Athletes First also has key clients such as Jalen Ramsey, Deshaun Watson, and Ryan Ramczyk.