10/8/10
This video perfectly summarizes the main issues surrounding this complicated controversy within the college football spectrum. When asked "Who is to blame for the agent problem?" Charles Davis (a college football analyst for the NFL Network) brings up the point that patrolling every single player on the team 24/7 is impossible for coaches to do, especially during the offseason. They bring in people to lecture their team on the rules and the perils they will face if they break these rules, but that only goes so far. Jamie Dukes, another analyst, notes that the root of the problem is money and it is a "real-world issue." For example, if the player's family is in a financial hardship and the school is making significant profit selling their jersey in the bookstore (while he doesn't get a dime off it), the player is then faced with the real-life situation of making the decision of "Do I do something to help put some food on my family's table, or do I not do anything." He admits that "it is a tough situation" for these athletes because they cannot even work and they have to sit back and watch their school profit off of them while they get nothing in return. Brian Baldinger, a commenter for the NFL, responds "I don't know if you can control it because it's so out-of-control right now." Davis notes that "A lot of people are sitting at home saying 'I wouldn't do it' Well, most of us aren't confronted with that opportunity." The last real choice these players had was choosing which school to play for and when they are suddenly faced with the choice of accepting or turning down that kind of money, it severely complicates things. When told that these players are mature and old enough to know better, Davis had this to say: "But I'd like to see you at 19 or 20, and they're offering you the riches of the world, and they're showing you different things, and they're wining and dining you, and telling you all of this other stuff, saying 'No one's going to find out, this is just between us,' it's very hard." The reality is is that this is a difficult situation that cannot be made simplistic in any way, which these NFL commentators illustrate.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-total-access/09000d5d81940a35/Impact-of-agents-on-NCAA-football
October 9, 2010
October 8, 2010
Conference Call
10/7/10
One day after a conference call between Ohio State's Jim Tressel, Texas' Mack Brown, Alabama's Nick Saban, Oklahoma's Bob Stoops, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the NFL Players Association, and a handful of athletic directors and agents addressing agent problems, Florida head-coach Urban Meyer summed up the main concerns. When asked about his opinion on the issue, he responded "You want to stop some kind of unethical, illegal activity? How do you do it? You punish them. The players get punished, and you want to stop the other side, too. It's almost like in recruiting: If there's no threat of a punishment, go have at it." This conference call came after several schools were investigated by the NCAA over the summer. When asked what he thought about the call, he had this to say: "I loved it," Meyer said. "I loved the fact that you have everybody involved and everybody wanting to do right. It was about as positive as you can get because everybody wants to do right. At the end of the day, obviously, there are people who don't want to do right. But the majority I would say want to do it right." These are the types of people who should push for changes within the system because the public will actually listen and respond to them.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d819ba8bd/article/florida-coach-meyer-rogue-agents-need-to-face-sanctions
One day after a conference call between Ohio State's Jim Tressel, Texas' Mack Brown, Alabama's Nick Saban, Oklahoma's Bob Stoops, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the NFL Players Association, and a handful of athletic directors and agents addressing agent problems, Florida head-coach Urban Meyer summed up the main concerns. When asked about his opinion on the issue, he responded "You want to stop some kind of unethical, illegal activity? How do you do it? You punish them. The players get punished, and you want to stop the other side, too. It's almost like in recruiting: If there's no threat of a punishment, go have at it." This conference call came after several schools were investigated by the NCAA over the summer. When asked what he thought about the call, he had this to say: "I loved it," Meyer said. "I loved the fact that you have everybody involved and everybody wanting to do right. It was about as positive as you can get because everybody wants to do right. At the end of the day, obviously, there are people who don't want to do right. But the majority I would say want to do it right." These are the types of people who should push for changes within the system because the public will actually listen and respond to them.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d819ba8bd/article/florida-coach-meyer-rogue-agents-need-to-face-sanctions
October 7, 2010
A Basic Explanation
10/6/10
For those who are unfamiliar with the topic of agents in college football, here is a basic way to look at it. You have a young, talented athlete who is offered a scholarship to play football at the collegiate level. While at college, he enjoys the attention of being on the team and dreams of being drafted into the NFL one day, where he will make millions playing the game that he loves. His hard work and determination play out on the field, and agents begin to take notice. Before long, a flock of these agents begin to swarm the player, offering him lavish material incentives so that he will sign with them. They want to be the one to represent him when he declares for the NFL draft, and they will do anything to be the player's number one choice. They fill the athlete's head with all sorts of ideas and basically throw free money at them, hoping to entice them. The young man feels untouchable, larger than life. "I won't get caught," he tells himself. But, all the bragging will eventually catch up with him. The NCAA will catch word of rule infractions and begin their investigation. The player eventually gets caught and he will be forced to pay back the expenses he accepted and his school is heavily reprimanded. The agent? He gets by without a scratch. He slips through the cracks and targets his next prey.
For those who are unfamiliar with the topic of agents in college football, here is a basic way to look at it. You have a young, talented athlete who is offered a scholarship to play football at the collegiate level. While at college, he enjoys the attention of being on the team and dreams of being drafted into the NFL one day, where he will make millions playing the game that he loves. His hard work and determination play out on the field, and agents begin to take notice. Before long, a flock of these agents begin to swarm the player, offering him lavish material incentives so that he will sign with them. They want to be the one to represent him when he declares for the NFL draft, and they will do anything to be the player's number one choice. They fill the athlete's head with all sorts of ideas and basically throw free money at them, hoping to entice them. The young man feels untouchable, larger than life. "I won't get caught," he tells himself. But, all the bragging will eventually catch up with him. The NCAA will catch word of rule infractions and begin their investigation. The player eventually gets caught and he will be forced to pay back the expenses he accepted and his school is heavily reprimanded. The agent? He gets by without a scratch. He slips through the cracks and targets his next prey.
Stepping Up
10/5/10
With agents running rampant throughout the college football environment, there is no real "easy" solution to this problem. There is the "improper benefits" in the form of hard-cash (Maurice Pouncey allegedly accepting $100,000 from an agent before their Sugar Bowl victory this past year) or all-paid for expenses like the infamous Miami South Beach Party (with players from Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina being investigated). Either way, it still violates the NCAA rules. While the schools and players are feeling the effects of these investigations, the agents are simply exploiting this system. Currently, there is no reason for these agents to follow the rules because the NFL rarely punishes them and schools rarely press charges against them. With the mass amounts of agents, it's a dog-eat-dog business and each one is willing to push the boundaries to get a leg up on the competition. This usually involves breaking the rules, since the NFL does not hand out real punishments. This is where the problem lies - it is up to the NFL to step up here and enforce legitimate punishments on these agents so that they think twice before approaching these young college athletes.
With agents running rampant throughout the college football environment, there is no real "easy" solution to this problem. There is the "improper benefits" in the form of hard-cash (Maurice Pouncey allegedly accepting $100,000 from an agent before their Sugar Bowl victory this past year) or all-paid for expenses like the infamous Miami South Beach Party (with players from Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina being investigated). Either way, it still violates the NCAA rules. While the schools and players are feeling the effects of these investigations, the agents are simply exploiting this system. Currently, there is no reason for these agents to follow the rules because the NFL rarely punishes them and schools rarely press charges against them. With the mass amounts of agents, it's a dog-eat-dog business and each one is willing to push the boundaries to get a leg up on the competition. This usually involves breaking the rules, since the NFL does not hand out real punishments. This is where the problem lies - it is up to the NFL to step up here and enforce legitimate punishments on these agents so that they think twice before approaching these young college athletes.
September 30, 2010
The High Life
10/1/10"NCAA bylaw 12.3.1.2 prohibits athletes from taking any benefits from prospective agents, including travel, training, lodging or other forms of compensation that would be considered extra benefits. The NFLPA also prohibits agents from contacting student athletes prior to Dec. 1 of their redshirt sophomore or true junior seasons." A lot of the time, it's not actual items that these agents give to players, it's trips and dinners and parties that they pay for. Most of these young athletes get caught up in the moment, and don't even realize that an agent is picking up the tab or paying for their bill. They are simply enjoying the "high life" with stuff that they otherwise wouldn't be able to experience or enjoy. They know it's against the rules but they push it to the back of their head, thinking it will be impossible to get caught. The only way this might change is if agents begin to be severely punished for their immoral actions, so it will set a tone across the board.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=cr-uncagents092910
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=cr-uncagents092910
Integrity
9/30/10
The crisis of agents jeopardizing the eligibility of athletes is not just present in college football. This is a problem that is currently plaguing multiple sports under the NCAA. However, no matter what the sport is, it always seems to be the same story. The fabric of college sports is tainted by liars, cheaters, and people who intentionally manipulate young players for their own financial gains or self-promotion. The integrity of the sports agent ring is constantly in question. It is obviously wrong for mature adults to do this to young athletes, but what's even worse is the fact that they recieve no punishment for their wrongdoings. The justice system in our society strives to make every case fair, and this is one that needs to be looked at again. It is not only unjust to the athletes, but also to their schools. Just as the players need to be held accountable for their actions, so do these agents.
The crisis of agents jeopardizing the eligibility of athletes is not just present in college football. This is a problem that is currently plaguing multiple sports under the NCAA. However, no matter what the sport is, it always seems to be the same story. The fabric of college sports is tainted by liars, cheaters, and people who intentionally manipulate young players for their own financial gains or self-promotion. The integrity of the sports agent ring is constantly in question. It is obviously wrong for mature adults to do this to young athletes, but what's even worse is the fact that they recieve no punishment for their wrongdoings. The justice system in our society strives to make every case fair, and this is one that needs to be looked at again. It is not only unjust to the athletes, but also to their schools. Just as the players need to be held accountable for their actions, so do these agents.
September 29, 2010
Free For All
9/29/10
Basically, this article is describing the possible outbreak of a "free-for-all" in college football. Agents are now approaching freshmen and sophomores and convincing them that they have a shot at making it in the pros. More than 1,200 agents are currently registered with NFL players association and more than half of them are without a client. More athletes are also becoming available since college players only have to play one year before they can declare for the NFL and every one of them is fair game. Agents are going after these young players telling them exactly what they want to hear: that they have the skill to be a breakout star in the pro league. By providing gifts and material incentives, these agents are essentially jeopardizing the entire future of thier clients. As Darren Rovell states, "Violating the rules is one thing. Getting caught is another." With such a large amount of certified agents floating around the country, it makes it extremely difficult to monitor each one's activity. Most of the time, agents who approach athletes at smaller schools get by without getting caught, unlike the ones at big-time campuses. However, it is still unfair that these agents recieve no penalty, only the players do. It just doesn't make sense.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1728315
Basically, this article is describing the possible outbreak of a "free-for-all" in college football. Agents are now approaching freshmen and sophomores and convincing them that they have a shot at making it in the pros. More than 1,200 agents are currently registered with NFL players association and more than half of them are without a client. More athletes are also becoming available since college players only have to play one year before they can declare for the NFL and every one of them is fair game. Agents are going after these young players telling them exactly what they want to hear: that they have the skill to be a breakout star in the pro league. By providing gifts and material incentives, these agents are essentially jeopardizing the entire future of thier clients. As Darren Rovell states, "Violating the rules is one thing. Getting caught is another." With such a large amount of certified agents floating around the country, it makes it extremely difficult to monitor each one's activity. Most of the time, agents who approach athletes at smaller schools get by without getting caught, unlike the ones at big-time campuses. However, it is still unfair that these agents recieve no penalty, only the players do. It just doesn't make sense.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1728315
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