NFL insider notebook: How Black agents are adjusting to today's NFL climate, a big week for one agent, more - CBS Sports

Black players specifically have had a hard year in light of the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and in figuring out how to publicly display their emotions about these killings, they've relied on their trusted agents.

He's the lead agent for 38 NFL players and co-reps a few others, which makes him, by volume, one of the most prominent Black agents today.

I asked him how he's processed the events of the past four months and how he's tried to help guide his Black clients.

So George Floyd wasn't like this wake-up call to me," Fields says.

"George Floyd has been something that I've seen all my life, literally.

So it's not anything that's new or 'man let's take advantage of this.' This is something that [my clients and I] have been in deep conversations about what we can do to change it.

I think the George Floyd incident has engaged them more to our plight, which is great for those of them who really, sincerely want to make change and want to help.

Some of Fields' top clients are Amari Cooper, Arik Armstead, Marlon Humphrey, Yannick Ngakoue and Chris Harris Jr.

Matter of fact, all of Fields' clients are Black.

With extremely few recent exceptions around the league, almost every Black agent reps only Black players.

But for whatever reason, that door hasn't been opened to us the same that it has the other way around," Fields says "It's not any fault of ours because I feel there are a lot of Black men who can do a great job outside of myself, but I don't think we're given the same type of opportunities that our counterparts are.".

Sadly, I've heard a few times over the years about Black players who opt to sign with a white agent because he either believes the white agent will be able to negotiate better with white front-office personnel, or that the Black agent won't be able to negotiate as well with that same white front-office personnel.

I had a player tell me that flat out, actually," Fields says.

"And you got to understand, for me personally, I'm not the guy who's recruiting guys who's 'you got to hire me because I'm Black.' That's not how I'm going in here.

I'm not saying you should hire me because I'm Black, and quite frankly I don't believe that anybody should hire anyone just based on their race alone.

Across the league this month, as you see Black players protest against racial injustice and police brutality, know that many of them have been working with their (likely) Black agent on how to best package and deliver their message on their platform to a huge audience.