Each year, it seems like there are several high-profile cases of sports agents giving “improper benefits” to Division I athletes, such as direct cash payments, use of sports cars, etc. When the sports agent provides such benefits, he or she is violating the Uniform Athlete Agents Act (UAAA), which has been adopted in forty states and Washington, D.C.
In today’s Pope Center feature, Jenna A. Robinson argues that the UAAA is actually a tool used by the NCAA to enforce its eligibility policy and keep top student-athletes in college.
The NCAA says it supports the law because it protects students from shady, exploitative sports agents. But Robinson isn’t convinced: “The UAAA, by ensuring students hear only one kind of advice – stay in school to play for the college team – allows the NCAA and universities themselves to maximize their revenues.”
“But the stars of the show – the student-athletes – are allocated money toward educations they often can’t or won’t use. Many risk injury and premature ends to their careers (and their scholarships) with little to show for it. For athletic superstars, ‘going pro’ before graduation is sometimes the least risky course. But universities and the NCAA don’t deliver that message to students,” writes Robinson.
Read the full article here.