In his 16th Saints season and 23rd in the National Football League, Harley's primary focus is contract negotiation and strategic planning/management of the Saints salary cap and roster management. In his eighth season in his current position after serving as director of football administration from 2008-13, he works in conjunction with the player personnel department, making player acquisitions fit within the salary cap structure. Harley works closely with the Pro and College Personnel departments in preparation of free agency and the NFL Draft. His duties also include contract negotiations, coordinating different areas of football operations, roster management and other administrative functions of running the club. He is a key liaison with the NFL Management Council and NFLPA. Harley has a deep background in NFL salary cap administration, Collective Bargaining Agreement regulations and the research of player contracts. He arrived in New Orleans in 2008 after serving for five years as the Manager of Labor Operations with the NFL Management Council.
On a daily basis, Harley researches contracts and cap statistics from not only the club but from around the NFL. It's similar to the daily and yearly reconciliation he did for all 32 clubs in his former position, where he calculated cap figures for each team, made adjustments for the following year and analyzed statistical trends related to signings.
Harley has also been a member of the NFL's Diversity Council, which is designed to promote diversity throughout the NFL's administrative offices, recommend diversity initiatives and implement/oversee approved programs. He started working in the League Office in 2002 as a Player Personnel Analyst, working to ensure each team's compliance with the salary cap, analyzing player contracts and researching the eligibility of college players.
Prior to entering the NFL, Harley was a financial analyst with Bloomberg, L.P. from 1995-2000, analyzing domestic and international bond markets, studying trends in European markets for clients, training employees and international staff and ensuring that debt issuance within Emerging, Latin American and U.S. Private Placement Markets were in compliance with corporate and SEC guidelines.
Harley graduated with a degree in Accounting from Rutgers University in 1998, twice receiving the National Association of Black Accountants Scholarship Award. He earned a master's degree in Sports Management from Springfield College in 2001. Harley was recognized by the Rutgers African-American Alumni Alliance in 2012 as a Hall of Fame inductee for his continuing contributions in supporting the educational programming, cultural awareness and development in continuing education in the undergraduate, graduate and post graduate levels. In 2019, he received the Salute to Excellence Award from the Fritz Pollard Alliance Foundation. He has participated in the 2021 NFL/Black College Hall of Fame Ozzie Newsome General Manager Forum and the 2022 NFL Coach and Front Office Accelerator.
