This former NFL executive is teaching Villanova students how to be the next Howie Roseman

The beds in Barcelona were too short for the gargantuan football players so Andrew Brandt placed a pillow on a night table at the end of each bed, hoping it would prevent his players’ legs from falling to the ground.

The team’s uniforms seemed to get ruined every time they were washed and there was never enough food for the Barcelona Dragons to eat. The Spanish fans cheered at off times and did the wave for the entire game as the Dragons played in the expansion World League of American Football.

“We had teams in the U.S., too, so we’d fly back and forth,” said Brandt, who was 30 years old and the youngest general manager in sports when he was hired to run the Dragons in 1991. “Sometimes, the customs guy would just look at me like, ‘I’m not giving you that.’ I was advised to pull out some money. He would keep tapping his fingers. It wasn’t enough. Then finally I was able to get our stuff out of customs.”

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The experience — Brandt’s first foray into team-building after working as an agent — was an adventure. He later spent 10 years as the vice president of the Green Bay Packers and signed Aaron Rodgers to his first NFL contract. First, he had to negotiate a deal with a customs agent to retrieve the Dragons’ pads and helmets.

And that is why Villanova targeted Brandt in 2012 to be the director of its sports law program.

Jeff Moorad, a former baseball agent and executive with a Villanova law degree, gave an endowment to the school to launch the program that would mold a future generation of sports agents and executives. He called Brandt and said he wanted him to oversee it.

Brandt asked Moorad if he wanted to instead hire an academic. No, Villanova wanted Brandt: the guy who worked for the Packers, represented players, appeared regularly on ESPN, advised Howie Roseman, and was the GM for a team that battled customs on its way to the 1991 World Bowl.

“It was a great experience looking back because I had to figure it out. It was all new,” Brandt said of the Dragons. “It steeled me for later in life. Nothing I did for the Packers was harder than that.”

Nick Pilny grew up as a fan of all Philadelphia sports teams, but there was something different about football season.

“It was ingrained in me that, ‘Yes, we support our four teams, but the Eagles are king in Philly,’” said Pilny, who lived in South Philly until moving to Glassboro when he was 12.

So he was on Broad Street after the Eagles won their first Super Bowl and still remembers how it felt to celebrate something you thought would never happen. Pilny studied finance at Elizabethtown College in Lancaster County but knew he wanted to work in sports. He wanted to be like the guy who built the team that made him celebrate on Broad Street.

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“Growing up, I wanted to be Howie Roseman,” Pilny said. “I wanted to be the GM of the Eagles, but I didn’t really know how to do that.”

He toured Villanova, learned about its sports law program, and knew that was the law school for him. The kid who still considers South Philly home — “St. Monica’s parish,” he said — believed Brandt’s program could help him become Roseman.

“I remember speaking to Professor Brandt for the first time and I was so nervous,” Pilny said. “This guy goes on WIP and talks to Angelo Cataldi. I was like, ‘I don’t know what I’m getting into.’ A big thing for me was realizing that I belong in the room I’m in. These are all just people at the end of the day. Yeah, I’m supposed to be here.

“The program has done so much for me, forming me into the person I currently am and gaining those skills like contract negotiations or drafting or just dealing with personalities.”

The program prepares law students in everything from salary-cap management to the constantly evolving world of name, image, and likeness deals. Some students want to be GMs or agents. Others want to work in other front-office jobs like communications.

“You learn a lot of great skills in law school,” said Lindsay Zimmermann, who played tennis at Villanova before going to law school. “Like research and writing that go into everything. Also, skills like negotiations are going to be beneficial whether you go into sports or not. The ability to speak to people, speak in front of a crowd, advocate for yourself, your team, whoever it might be. Just learning an upper level of skill and then being able to talk to all of these professors at school who have worked in sports, it’s an access to a whole network of people.”

A key part of the three-year program is the school’s Sports Law Negotiation teams, which compete in high-profile competitions all over the country. The competitions challenge law students to act like sports agents and general managers at negotiation tables.

“It’s very difficult,” said Zachary Cioffi, the captain of the baseball negotiation team. “In real-life arbitration, the hearings are hours long. For us, we have a 15-minute presentation to get as much information in as we can and then a seven-minute rebuttal.

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“The tough part being on the team side is that you have to show empathy for the player. You’re saying they don’t deserve this much money because of the market, but you don’t want to tell him how bad he is when he’s sitting in the room. It’s finding that fine line of being respectful.”

The Villanova students spend nearly 50 hours a semester working on the negotiation team, preparing for the arguments they’ll make at competitions in Los Angeles, New Orleans, and New York. The competitions are judged by sports executives and power brokers, giving the students a chance to showcase their skills for prospective employers. It’s almost like a job interview.

The baseball, football, and soccer negotiation teams all won their competitions this year as Brandt helped make sure his students were ready.

“He’s taught us when to know to be quiet and just let the other side talk,” said Jacob Deradoorian, the captain of the soccer negotiation team. “Almost every conversation you have with him, you get the feeling that he might be sitting at a negotiation table.

“When he’s not in front of a classroom, I feel like he’s always sitting and waiting you out and listening to what you have to say. If it’s a negotiation, you take advantage of that. I think that’s something we try to mimic.”

Brandt moved to Philadelphia shortly after leaving the Packers, believing it was time to find something new. He worked in media and taught classes at the Wharton School. Then the Eagles called.

“They heard I was back in Philly,” said Brandt, whose wife grew up in Pennsylvania.

Brandt, known in Green Bay for his work with the NFL’s salary cap, said Andy Reid and Joe Banner asked him if he could help with some things. Roseman, who joined the Eagles as an intern in 2000 after sending NFL teams handwritten letters every day for years, was quickly rising up the team’s ranks and they could use Brandt as an adviser.

“I always saw big things for Howie,” Brandt said. “He was extremely disciplined about his work and I’ve said this a lot: I think he’s always given the Eagles a competitive advantage. So many general managers only come with a scouting background. He learned that scouting background, but he’s born with this background in finance and business that has continually given the Eagles an upper hand with trade negotiations with other GMs and contract negotiations with agents. I saw that early on.”

Brandt was there for the early stages as the architect of two Super Bowl champions was still finding his way. Fifteen years later, Brandt has students who aspire to be like Roseman.

Pilny’s negotiation team was in New Orleans for the football competition a week before the Super Bowl. The students had to pretend they were the Eagles negotiating with Josh Sweat on a contract extension. Pilny and his teammates stayed up until 2 a.m. preparing for the next morning’s arguments. The experience provided a glimpse into how Roseman works.

“We’re trying to get ready for the 8 a.m. negotiation and I’m like, ‘Howie, come on. Why are you putting option bonuses into 2030 and dragging these void years out?’” Pilny said. “The Eagles are one of the few teams in the NFL that uses option bonuses and void years to the extent that Howie does. It makes it a lot more complicated but forced me in that moment to get more comfortable with it.”

The team finished the tournament a week before the Eagles won the Super Bowl. The hotel was near the Superdome and Pilny got as close as he could to the stadium before flying back to Philly. He watched the game in South Jersey, drove in to Philly after the Birds won, and celebrated again on Broad Street. There was another Super Bowl to celebrate. One day, Pilny hopes to build his own. Just like Roseman.

“I’m still trying to figure out what path I want to start on, but hopefully it takes me where I want to be,” Pilny said. “I think I have the unique perspective of being educated in legal contracts in a formal matter while also still knowing my roots and being passionate and understanding of what this city feels and what they expect from their players and organizations.”