The NCAA’s Dilemma - published in the Greenville Journal, Friday, September 12, 2010.

Many people blame sports agents for the latest round of scandals that have rocked college football in the past few months. The stance taken is that agents flashing wads of cash in front of young players is why North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina and Auburn have come under the NCAA microscope.
But the problem isn’t the agents. It’s the NCAA.
I have represented NFL players for eight years and have never seen a college player receive money from an agent, but I have heard stories. And the stories never start with the agent. It is the player who asks for money to pay bills, to buy clothes or to get food that is not from the athletic department cafeteria.
Why do the players ask for the money? For the most part it is need. They are on a full scholarship to play football, but have no outside income because of NCAA rules. Does greed come into the equation? Yes. Many players have never been around money, and soon they get distracted chasing dollar signs from agents when they should be building trust.
A Sports Illustrated cover story two weeks ago included an agent’s confession of paying $2,500 to a player who said his mom needed money to pay her bills. A few hours after making the transaction another player called with the same request. The agent learned then to parcel out money to players like laying bread crumbs in the water.
The reality is that is how the business works.
The other factor is families. A player’s brother-in-law asked me for money once. The player likely didn’t know about the request, but that highlights the second problem the NCAA faces. Legally an agent can’t talk to a player until after his junior season when he is trying to decide if he wants to forgo his senior year and play in the NFL.
But many agents talk to (and pay) family members, who then give the player paid-for counsel to go with a certain agent. Instead of learning honestly about an agent, the player is forced into a situation that may not be best. That is an impediment to agents and athletes who are playing by the rules.
In a better world, the NCAA needs to increase scholarships and create more opportunities for above board talks between agents. If a talented sophomore can talk to several agents without jeopardizing the agents status with the NCAA or his eligibility, he is more likely to find one who has the player’s best interests at heart.
The NCAA doesn’t need to add more people to monitor players. They need to cut the reason why players are seeking money from agents.

David Wyatt is an NFL agent with Wyatt Sports, LLC and attorney with the firm of Pfeiffer Gleaton Wyatt Hewitt, PA in Greenville, SC.