Column: Agent issues in college athletics reflects NCAA flaw

Hopefully sooner than later, there will be some initiative taken by someone — anyone, for God’s sake — to correct the long overdue problem of unscrupulous sports agents giving college athletes, predominately college football and basketball players, illegal benefits.

Although programs such as South Carolina, Florida and Georgia top the list of programs under investigation stemming from incidents this summer, it’s not a new problem. 

Last week, Josh Luchs, a former football agent and employee of super agent Gary Wichard, came clean with a tell-all story in Sports Illustrated. Luchs confessed his and others’ violations in a must-read revelation that brings the whole mess into perspective.

Where does the problem start? Look no further than the NCAA itself. Let’s face it, the NCAA will never fix its hypocritical flaw in not allowing players to accept any form of compensation from anyone — the league itself or Bobby’s Burger Palace.

By making millions in TV deals and player-specific merchandise, the NCAA is leaving its athletes — workers, in a sense — to fend for and support themselves.
Nonprofit, eh?

Someone tell me how a college athlete with a full class load while spending four to five hours a day with their sport in season is supposed to have a source of income supplying them with enough money to last the entire academic year.

And that’s not even considering summer school and “voluntary” workouts during those months, a time when most students go home or take summer classes and have a summer job at the golf course or Cheeseburger in Paradise.

There’s no problem with the fact that college athletics has become a year-round involvement — but there needs to be. What’s a graduated senior who’s preparing for the NFL supposed to do?

Take off January and most of February to show up flat at the combine and lose thousands — maybe millions — of dollars based on where he’s drafted?

Where it begins to become a problem is when the NCAA’s billions come at the athletes’ expense and well-being. Look at the BCS — how much of the TV, ticket and sponsorship cut is going to the players? The NCAA is all but asking the players to take money — where else are they going to get it?

By leaving the athletes out, the NCAA baits representation firms to offer, and it baits players to accept even harder.

Matthew Pope, director of football operations and marketing agent for Exclusive Sports Group, LLC, said he thinks there needs to be a cohesive effort on the part of the NCAA and the NFL Players Association to fix the agent problem.

“I think the NCAA needs to team up with the league and the NFLPA to deter agents,” Pope, whose company represents more than 20 players in the NFL, said. “You have to look at it from the NCAA and NFLPA perspectives. There needs to be some sort of certification suspension.”

The temptation to take up dirty agents on their cash or beach houses wouldn’t be enough to risk eligibility, and in turn, the opportunity to improve draft stock. It would also take some heat off the schools, the wrong places to dish out most of the blame.

“You see the players getting in trouble a lot with (agent assistants or ‘runners’),” Pope said. “Most coaches teach kids the right way to do it, but they’re not with them 24 hours a day.”

Agents have a vital role in a player’s well-being. They have to be hired. That is, at the legal time, which in football begins after the final game of a player’s senior year or when he declares for the NFL Draft.

Picture a middle linebacker not making similar contract numbers to another who put up equal or lesser stats due to lack of research. Or picture a wideout suffering a season-ending injury while playing at San Diego.

Who’s going to make sure he gets proper workman’s compensati on benefits in California, one of the most employee-friendly states in the union? 

The NCAA’s intentions are great, but it’s time they look at this from multiple perspectives and do one of two things: either team up with NFLPA and/or government to stick it to dirty agents, or team up with presidents and athletics directors and fix this problem themselves through some sort of financial support.

They hold the power, just like they hold the green. Simple as that.

E-mail: ftherber@indiana.edu