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Derek Simpson, the agent for Malcolm Butler, the New England Patriot who made the game saving interception during the 2015 Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks, talks about the Butler and the recent game. (Sarah Cole/scole@al.com)

(Sarah Cole)

Derek Simpson was watching the Super Bowl with his wife Shannon and their children Kate, Jane and Will when he had a premonition with two minutes remaining.

"He's going to be a goat or a hero," Simpson said of New England rookie defensive back Malcolm Butler.

Simpson is a Huntsville attorney with a well-established practice. He also has what he has called a "hobby" but what Shannon reminds him is "a side business." He has been certified by the NFL as a player agent since 2012 and his first client to earn an NFL job is Butler, an undrafted free agent from West Alabama.

Sure enough, Butler was involved in coverage on the stupendous, fluky reception by Jermaine Kearse, the Seahawks' receiver falling on his back as the tipped ball landed on his chest.

"My heart just sunk," Simpson said Tuesday afternoon in between calls and texts with Butler. "He was going to be the goat and I'd have to watch that play the rest of my life."

Instead, two plays later, the play New England fans will watch the rest of their lives: Butler's game-saving interception at the goal line after the quizzical play-calling of Seattle coach Pete Carroll that could leave you scratching your head all the way to the skull.

"I knew they were going to throw it," Butler told reporters. "From preparation, I remembered the formation they were in and I knew they were doing a pick route."

From four yards deep in the end zone, Butler burst out of nowhere and picked the ball off an instant before Ricardo Lockett got to it.

Simpson's involvement is still a far cry from "Jerry Maguire." Show me the money? Still not a ton of it. Butler made the rookie minimum of $420,000, with Simpson's 3-percent cut coming out to $12,600.

Simpson, whose late father Fred was the long-time Madison County District Attorney, combined his lifelong love of football with the legal profession from unique motivation. One night while watching the HBO series "Hard Knocks," a behind-the-scenes training camp look at an NFL team, he was taken aback by what he felt poor representation of one of the players. So, the way many of us think about running hotels or cooking steaks, he said, "I can do better than that."

He earned his certification after paying $2,500 and passing an extensive test only 60 percent of applicants pass. Simpson first represented former Butler High and Alabama running back Kenneth Darby as he tried to return to the NFL, then had four players from last year's draft-eligible players. Because the NFL mandates an agent must have a player in the league in a three-year span, he was in danger of losing his certification before Butler stuck with the Patriots.

Simpson's affinity for Butler was obvious to anyone who knows him, well before the Super Bowl rolled around. Said Simpson, "There couldn't be a better guy." They talked each Saturday before games and Simpson visited him in New England for a midseason game. He'll put Butler on the speakerphone at home, much to the delight of his kids.

He would certainly welcome other clients, but appreciates the personal relationships he's been able to forge and the opportunity to offer some advice in places he saw a televised agent fail. He has pushed fiscal responsibility on Butler.

Simpson once told him to stick two Post-It notes on his bathroom mirror. On one, write the numeral 3. That's the average career for an NFL player, three years. On the other, 78 %. That's the percentage of NFL players who file for bankruptcy after their careers end.

The percentages that a free-agent rookie from West Alabama would save a Super Bowl? Can't put that microscopic a figure on a Post-It note.

"It's still surreal," Simpson said. "I'd have been happy to say Malcolm got in for 18 plays. I never would have dreamed he'd make the biggest play in Super Bowl history."