Niño Pro Football Agency Emma Nwofor interview on its 120-player

In the Niño Pro Football Agency Emma Nwofor interview, owner Gabriel Martinez said his agency represents more than 120 professional football players, with roughly 55% currently signed. He also explained why accounts of unpaid players helped push him to start the agency, and why an overseas career may require accepting far less money than an NFL hopeful expects.

What does Niño Pro Football Agency do for players pursuing football overseas?

Niño Pro Football Agency helps players find professional opportunities in leagues across North America and overseas, while assessing where they are ready to play and where they hope to go next. Martinez told Emma Nwofor that his coaching background helps him evaluate players and speak with the coaches who might sign them.

Based in Texas, Martinez said he has worked as an agent for seven years, with some overlap between that work and roughly 13 years as a professional coach. His coaching experience took him from college to arena football and, for a season, to the Czech Republic. As an agent, he works with players seeking opportunities in Canada, Mexico, Europe and Japan, among other destinations.

Martinez is a certified agent for the Canadian Football League. He said he is working toward National Football League agent certification and plans to take the required step next year. For now, much of his work involves helping players pursue professional football outside the NFL, including indoor leagues and overseas teams.

An international contract can involve more than a salary. Martinez said players may have flights and housing covered, and sometimes receive a phone, car or transit pass. He sees those arrangements as a chance for athletes to keep playing and experience another country while working toward their longer-term goals.

Why did Gabriel Martinez start Niño Pro Football Agency?

Gabriel Martinez started Niño Pro Football Agency after years of coaching, recruiting and agent work showed him how much players depend on reliable representation. He said conversations with athletes who had lost opportunities—or had not been paid—made him want to handle that responsibility differently.

Players who stopped hearing from their agents

While working in personnel and recruiting, Martinez contacted agents for player lists and then spoke directly with athletes. Some told him they no longer played, despite having competed at a high level the previous year. According to Martinez, their accounts included agents who stopped returning messages and placements where players were not paid, fed or properly housed.

He said those experiences could drain a player’s passion for football. His coaching background gave him a way into agent work: he understood what coaches sought and could discuss a player with them. He first learned the business at another company, continued signing and helping players while coaching in the Czech Republic, and eventually became its vice president of football operations.

Building an agency beyond the football work

Starting his own company meant learning how to register a business, manage fees and insurance, build a website and handle graphics and social media. Martinez said football was the part he already knew. Established in 2024, Niño Pro Football Agency has since added aspiring agents and scouts to its staff.

How does Niño Pro Football Agency choose and promote its players?

Niño Pro Football Agency represents more than 120 players, and Martinez said roughly 55% were signed when he spoke with Nwofor. He wants that share to rise, but said the agency does not accept every applicant: a player’s film, readiness, personality and willingness to hear an honest evaluation all matter.

Martinez put the agency’s approach plainly:

we say no much more than we say yes

Some players, he explained, are not yet ready for the level they want to reach. He described telling an athlete who believes he should be in the NFL that he still needs work, then identifying what he could improve. Martinez said some return months later ready to act on that assessment. He has also learned not to overlook a poor fit simply because a player is eager to join.

His advice on visibility is practical: research the platforms available, keep social media appropriate, maintain a LinkedIn presence and keep playing information current. Martinez compared a year away from the field to a gap on a job résumé because teams may ask about it. He also pointed to MILLIONS as a place where players can build a profile, make merchandise and connect with an audience.

The agency’s growth extends to its staff. Martinez said he brought in scouts and aspiring agents who want to move into player personnel or other football roles. One scouting director moved into a personnel position that same year, a development Martinez described as another form of advocacy.

What did Gabriel Martinez say about international football leagues and the London Warriors?

Gabriel Martinez said international leagues differ not just in rules or style but in how many overseas players a team can use. He described roster limits in Canada, Mexico and the Czech Republic, then pointed to Japan’s X League and a player’s season with the London Warriors as examples of opportunities beyond the United States.

Roster rules in Canada, Mexico and the Czech Republic

In the Canadian Football League, Martinez said, teams must meet a ratio governing Canadian and American players on the field. He said a team in Mexico’s Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional can have up to 16 Americans, though its budget may limit how many it signs. The Czech team he coached was allowed one American player; most of its roster was local, with some players from nearby countries including Poland.

Martinez said that mix of players creates obstacles as well as cultural exchange. He recalled enthusiastic crowds at smaller European stadiums and said Japan’s X League has a reputation among players as an attractive place to compete.

The London Warriors and NFL games in the United Kingdom

Nwofor asked Martinez about the NFL’s growing presence in the United Kingdom, including games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. He welcomed the chance for fans to see the sport live, while describing a future UK-based NFL team as a possibility rather than an established plan.

One player Martinez represents had recently returned from a season with the London Warriors in the American Football League Europe. Martinez said the player had family ties to London and had spent some of his childhood there, making the opportunity to play in front of family particularly meaningful.

What advice did Gabriel Martinez give aspiring professional football players?

Gabriel Martinez said a player considering an overseas career should first decide whether they love football enough to accept the distance from home and the likely pay. He warned that a contract might bring about £1,000 a month rather than anything close to NFL earnings, even when a team covers living costs.

Flights, housing, transportation and meals may be provided, Martinez said, allowing a player to keep much of that monthly pay. But the experience can also mean living far from family, outside a hometown or home state, with little fame or financial reward. Those realities should be understood before a player commits.

He encouraged prospective professionals to have an informed conversation about the available routes, even if they never become his clients. Martinez said he would rather explain what a path entails than let someone make a decision based only on the prospect of playing professionally.

What food did Gabriel Martinez miss after coaching in the Czech Republic?

Gabriel Martinez said the affordable sushi near his apartment was the food he most wished he could bring back from the Czech Republic. He recalled a restaurant within a five-minute walk in Peruba where he could try several kinds of sushi for relatively little money.

Martinez could not recall the restaurant’s name with certainty and said he did not have a usual order. Sometimes he translated the menu with a photo; other times, he simply pointed to something and tried it. He estimated that about $15 could buy him a substantial meal.

Who is Gabriel Martinez?

Gabriel Martinez is the Texas-based owner of Niño Pro Football Agency and a CFL Players' Association Contract Advisor. Established in 2024, the agency works with professional football players in legitimate leagues across North America and overseas. Martinez brought more than a decade of professional coaching experience to his work with athletes.