Plenty of agents have been complaining on an off-the-record basis regarding the conduct of agents who pay college football players and the arguably hypocritical comments from men like Alabama coach Nick Saban.
One agency, Octagon, has issued a statement regarding the situation.
“Octagon strongly supports the vigorous enforcement of the rules governing agent conduct jeopardizing the eligibility of amateur athletes and placing collegiate programs at risk,” Octagon president Phil de Picciotto said in a statement provided to Darren Rovell of CNBC. “We have always held ourselves to the highest standards and have sometimes lost business because of it. We don’t engage in those situations. Those agents who circumvent the rules should be punished appropriately. For the well-being of the young men and women who are making the transition from amateur to professional athletics, the institutions they attend, and those athletes and agents who act ethically, the issue of unscrupulous agent behavior must be addressed and combated with the utmost seriousness.”
Other agents have commented privately on the sheer stupidity of giving money to players who still have a year left to play. More often than not, that final year of college football reshuffles the deck, with players who go in to the season at the top of the board falling like a rock strapped to an anchor. Why risk an entire livelihood on handing a bag of money to a kid who may be, when all is said and done, a UFL prospect at best?