NFL, NCAA and states get together to discuss agents; still missing the point

Once again there is an attempt to come up with a new solution to the “agent problem”.

The difficulty is that these parties continue to miss the point.  You cannot solve a problem unless you accurately identify what the problem is.  It would be like trying to treat a disease by prescribing a medication when you still have not yet been able to identify the illness.

They are correct in the need for a broader classification of who needs to be governed.  The problems do not just occur with the normal agents, they occur with:

• Runners
• Marketing agents
• Financial advisors
• Boosters
• Friends
• Parents
• Other service providers

Basically anyone who wants to provide any service to the athlete becomes a potential problem because these groups all have an interest in attracting the athlete’s attention and finding a way to ingratiate themselves so that they can continue to work with the athlete once they have signed their professional contract.

The part being missed by all of these groups is that the legislation needed here is really national legislation.  It is not from the players associations, the leagues, the NCAA, the conferences, the universities, the states or anyone else.  Currently the amount of overlap and confusion is enormous.  All but the most successful agents regularly disregard most of the regulations except for those that apply directly to their services or the particular schools at which they recruit.

We at From the Bench previously addressed this in the Call for National Regulation.  Unfortunately, when you see that discussed, it is almost always discussed as an add on to the existing regulations.  And thus is only serves to increase the costs and the barriers to entry for those that actually try to play by the rules.