this is a step in the right direction although what they need to do is hit the scumbag agents. they are the real problem in most of these situations. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5725836 Players who lose their college eligibility for receiving improper benefits from agents could face financial penalties upon entering the NFL draft under a proposal being considered by a panel of college and pro football officials seeking solutions to the problem. The NCAA noted the possibility of "potential post-NCAA financial penalties" in a news release Monday announcing the collaborative discussions between professional and college football leaders, player agents, state law enforcement officials and NCAA executives. The possibility of suspensions during a player's NFL rookie year -- as long as 6 to 8 games -- is also being discussed, according to two sources involved in the collaborative discussions including representatives of the NFL, the NFLPA, the NCAA and the American Football Coaches Association. This means that if a college players' eligibility has ended under NCAA penalty, a player such as former Oklahoma State and current Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant or former North Carolina defensive lineman Marvin Austin could be subject to penalties that extend well beyond the loss of college eligibility. Austin is one of several high-profile college football stars who lost eligibility for this season for accepting improper benefits from player agents. Bryant lost most of his senior season in 2009 for failing to fully disclose his interaction with former NFL player Deion Sanders. Financial penalties collected from players who lose their eligibility could conceivably go to charity, one source said. As the NCAA continues to spearhead collaborative efforts to tackle the issue of improper agent activity, the names of more than 20 people who are part of the group working on the problem were revealed Monday. The NCAA said the group met last week and is making progress in identifying potential solutions and opportunities for greater collaboration between the NCAA, the NFL and its union and state government officials. The group, which is expected to meet again next month, includes conference commissioners Mike Slive of the SEC and Jim Delany of the Big Ten; AFCA executive director Grant Teaff, prominent sports agent Jimmy Sexton; NFL team presidents Bill Polian of the Indianapolis Colts and Rich McKay of the Atlanta Falcons; NFL executive vice-president of football operations Ray Anderson; and Rachel Newman Baker, the NCAA's director of agent, gambling and amateurism. Additional NFL, NFLPA, and NCAA officials, player agents and conference officials are also part of the group.
also how would they deal with a guy like reggie bush who was found to have broken rules a number of years after he was in the nfl?
Soooo basically all I get from this is the NCAA and NFL say its ok that they and agents make money off college athletes but the athletes can't market their own brand. When is someone going to go to court and challenge this nonsense?
So let me make sure I understand this properly... the NCAA is going to somehow get the NFL to suspend and or fine these kids once they make it to the NFL? That will go over big... but I bet the kids stop taking the money up front. Think about it, if the kid is going to be suspended for half his rookie year, and its known prior to the draft, how many of those guys will become first rounders? very very few, only the extremely elite will be drafted in the first round. Which means the kids lose tons of money overall and as a result it will make the kids think twice before doing it. Stupid as shit way to fix things, because it wont stop the agents, and it just punishes the kids, and weakens the NFL as a whole if rookies arent allowed to properly develop during their rookie seasons.
There needs to be a way to get the guys who don't have any money some money to spend. These kids see their hard work paying everybody but themselves and it probably gets frustrating. Their football ability is paying the salaries of the entire athletic department and funding water polo and girls soccer yet they don't get to see a penny of it. The entire system is fucked.
We should ask what Eric Legrand's parents think about this, who have tons of medical bills to pay. These players risk bodily harm for free, and now if they take money the NFL can punish them too. Makes no sense. Not to mention most of the players who do get caught, cost themselves millions anyway because their draft stock takes a hit for having "bad character."
Like everyone is saying this is unfair if the NFL and NCAA don't go after the agents as well. The other obvious flaw to this is that there will be a lot of cases that might not come out for a few years. Does it really make sense to suspend Bush 4 years later? To take money away from the players years later?
I find it hard to believe that the NFL could get away with this when the inevitable lawsuit occurs. While there is no question that an employer has the right to impose sanctions on its own workers for inappropriate behavior while they are employees (subject to a contract saying it's okay), this sort of after-the-fact punishment for behavior that occurred before you were an employee and is not remotely illegal strikes me as an antitrust violation, if nothing else. The blindingly obvious solution is to pay college players a stipend, which would remove the temptation for all but the very elite athlete. Sooner or later this has to happen.
It will not happen, why? CBA unless college football is going to start negotiating benefits as well, this will never happen. NFL and the NFLPA have to negotiate any disciplinary issues regarding their players, unless college football wants the NFLPA to start negotiating on behalf of college football players they need to check their egos at the door and try to fix this problem in house.
All I have to say is that the NCAA has a huge set of brass ones. Not only do the players not get paid by their school but they can't take any money from anyone for any reason related to their sport. Now on top of that they want to fine these players. The NCAA can STFU until college football has a playoff to decide the winner.
I have questions regarding this article but I'm not sure if it relates to OP. http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/Minnesota-Vikings-Phil-Loadholt-fined-for-facemask-penalty-102910 "The league also fined Vikings receiver Randy Moss $25,000 for failing to cooperate with the news media on several occasions." Can't Randy Moss keep his mouth shut if he chooses? And don't coaches sometimes order gag rules for their players? By reading this article the NFL seems a little too eager to fine players and coaches. Just my observation.
it doesn't. welcome to the internet, where everybody thinks they are making profoud statements but don't make a lick of sense.
F the NCAA. I was hoping the massive conference switching happened just so the superpowers could abolish the NCAA.
Not a thing. I was criticizing the NCAA. The playoff thing was just piling on. Thanks! A subtle attempt at humor isn't a delusion of grandeur.