DrDawkinstein Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 What a fantastic article. Good on SI. I think college athletes need to be paid stipends. agreed, with practice and training regiments, its almost impossible for a player to keep a SUMMER job, let alone a job during the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloinLA Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/magazine/10/12/agent/index.html?eref=sihp Wow, this dude used to be an agent, details all the money he gave out, kinda implicats Kiper giving better grades to clients of his friend Gary Wichard etc. Good read Great article. Really shows how the NFL needs to crack down on agents and make them lose their accredidation if they break the rules. The only people who suffer are the universities and the players who come afterwards (see USC, Reggie Bush). Along the same lines, there are definite violations committed by the universities themselves. Tnhis past year, a friend of the family was recruited by a major conference football team. At the weekend for all of the recruits, they were entertained by the current players who (legally) were given $ to take them out. However, our friend said that he was asked: do you want drugs, do you want women? The coach had left by then, but was surely cognizant of what was being done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmacla Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 saw something on CBS that Nebraska is auctioning off game worn jersey's of their players on EBAY and funneling it to the "general scholarship fund" and it is legal but what AJ Green did with his own property was illegal ...Huh?? On USC thing they get handed down one of the most severe penalties ever when 1 player just 1 player was in violation seems a bit extreme, but instead of taking away scholarships which hurts kids and taking away bowl appearances and altering record books....why not fine the school the money they got from bowls with the the years in question and let them play in bowls just not be able to accept the money for the years in question...my understanding is Pac 10 splits all bowl payments evenly amongst schools so by not having to give free rides abut still getting bowl money from other schools reall ycosting USC anything or just punishing innocent kids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Can somebody please remind me how NCAA can state with a straight face that Div I football & basketball are not professional sports and the players aren't being exploited? I don't want to hear crap about getting a college degree, because 90% of those are shams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 (edited) Can somebody please remind me how NCAA can state with a straight face that Div I football & basketball are not professional sports and the players aren't being exploited? I don't want to hear crap about getting a college degree, because 90% of those are shams. Can we also stop with the nonsense that College is better than the Pros because "it's not all about the money; these kids just love to play the game"? The other thing that's just as "shocking"? The way these stars get their college degree. In the article he stated 90% don't take their education seriously. Well... that's a nice way of saying profs are forced to pass football players that never show up for class. note: Not saying you've said that, but it's been said by many others. Just using your comment as a talking point. Edited October 12, 2010 by Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 What a fantastic article. Good on SI. I think college athletes need to be paid stipends. Other than tuition room and board? I'm sure if they need extra money, they would qualify for "student loans" like most actual students. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Other than tuition room and board? I'm sure if they need extra money, they would qualify for "student loans" like most actual students. Except they're not actual students, but are a money machine for the school. The difference them and the wealthy alumni is that the star athlete contributes millions to the school coffers between 18-22, not after 50. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notwoz Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Can we also stop with the nonsense that College is better than the Pros because "it's not all about the money; these kids just love to play the game"? The other thing that's just as "shocking"? The way these stars get their college degree. In the article he stated 90% don't take their education seriously. Well... that's a nice way of saying profs are forced to pass football players that never show up for class. note: Not saying you've said that, but it's been said by many others. Just using your comment as a talking point. The whole concept of "student-athletes" is so ridiculous and probably has been since the earliest days of collegiate sports. Back in the day (before the internet, cell phones, or even a well-developed cable TV infrastructure) I attended a college that had a well-known basketball program. The b-ball players got to register for courses before the other students, and we'd go to the registration area to see which courses the players signed up for. When our turn came to register, we zeroed in on those courses because we knew they'd be cake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST MODE BABY! Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 On USC thing they get handed down one of the most severe penalties ever when 1 player just 1 player was in violation seems a bit extreme Do you REALLY think that Reggie Bush was the only one getting payments, favors or whatever at USC? REALLY?!?!?!? I think you're smoking crack if you do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dayman Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 As others have said, this is simply an amazing article. I found myself reading at a million miles an hour. Names, details, story covering more than 15 years...this is the best article I've ever read from a link on this board. This makes things seem...in all honesty...even more corrupt than I thought it was. I don't want to be an agent after reading this...that's for sure...easier ways to make a living...and at some point...the youthful excitement of working with start athletes has to wear off when that's the business. I don't think that dude, or any of the players specifically named as taking money are necessarily bad people...but...I couldn't work with them. Any of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 I don't know about you guys, but the takeaway from that article for me was that I now want very badly to go hang out with Greg Townsend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartacus Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Why are people busting on Kiper? Kiper's work is for fans, not front offices. I would hope team scouting departments aren't depending on Kiper's rankings. where do you think Modrak gets all of his top flight info from Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lv-Bills Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/magazine/10/12/agent/index.html?eref=sihp Wow, this dude used to be an agent, details all the money he gave out, kinda implicats Kiper giving better grades to clients of his friend Gary Wichard etc. Good read Dang, that was a good read. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bladiebla Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Great read... Reccommend everyone to read every word of it and then when done say one word outload... Maybin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve O Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Former Bill Darick Holmes is mentioned as one of the players that took money... really interesting story. I wonder if this will cause any noise. Holmes needed money for his brother's murder defense (among other things I'm sure). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramius Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Colleges should give their "student" athletes 4 years of paid tuition to be used at a future date, when these guys might actually use it to better themselves. 2% of these kids actually give a crap about school and studies. I've had friends work in the academic assistance program for the D-I athletes. It's amazing how many of the guys come in and from the outset, expect the tutors to simply do their homework for them and the like. Also, one new tactic (or maybe not new) that some universities are doing (especially in basketball), is that if Jr. decides to commit to X university, X will then by some magic find a cush $50k per year "job" for Jr's friend, who will funnel that $ directly to Jr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsBackersChicago Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 What a fantastic article. Good on SI. I think college athletes need to be paid stipends. good call, because the $100K they get in a free college education is not enough. They need money to spend on Vegas weekends living it up just so that they can look like the big man on campus while other kids are taking 2 part time jobs and actually having to do WELL in their classes to get by. And then at the end, they go through this ridiculous draft, get pain an obscene amount of money UP FRONT for being a great college football player, then they either go bust or F- it up in some other way because they continue to act like the world is their oyster, and that rules and consequences don't apply to them. Why would they think anything else with all the special treatment we give them through college. How about this, they are spectacular athletes, you know what that buys them? A DAMN GOOD COLLEGE EDUCATION FOR FREE. Thats something that a lot of kids dream of and never get despite working just as hard as some athletes. If they still need money for basic needs, make it a rule in the NCAA that there needs to be time set aside for these kids to volunteer or work during school to earn extra money. TEACH THEM SOME RESPONSIBILITY. The world is not full of handouts, teach them that from the beginning, that if you want something, like a playstation3, a spot on a team, a high draft spot, or a fancy car, you EARN it on your own. The hell with stipends, they have time set aside to go to class, they should have time set a side to take care of their financial needs as well by working for it. And what makes us think that these "stipends" will be enough. Do we really think giving kids just enough to get by will stop them from taking when offered lavish luxuries from agents? The point is, college is a place where kids should be turned into adults. Adults that know how to function in the real world. We need to teach them responsibility, ethics and perserverence. We need to teach college kids that hard work, respect, and responsibility eventually may give them their dream of being an NFL player, but that taking handouts, lying, cheating, and trying to "beat the system" will ensure that their dreams never come true. If we do that, we might just get players that don't start dog fighting rings, beat their wives/girlfriends, have outlandish affairs with mistresses, shoot themselves in nightclubs, get caught with pot and firearms in their car, etc. A lot of these kids had to walk away from terrible environments where this stuff was commonplace in order to reach the NCAA let alone the NFL. We shouldn't give them a reason to bring it back into their lives. Teach them to be hard working, upstanding, model citizens, ones that are worthy of being called role models. Then we can fill the NFL with THOSE players. Thats the NFL I want my future son to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramius Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 good call, because the $100K they get in a free college education is not enough. They need money to spend on Vegas weekends living it up just so that they can look like the big man on campus while other kids are taking 2 part time jobs and actually having to do WELL in their classes to get by. And then at the end, they go through this ridiculous draft, get pain an obscene amount of money UP FRONT for being a great college football player, then they either go bust or F- it up in some other way because they continue to act like the world is their oyster, and that rules and consequences don't apply to them. Why would they think anything else with all the special treatment we give them through college. How about this, they are spectacular athletes, you know what that buys them? A DAMN GOOD COLLEGE EDUCATION FOR FREE. Thats something that a lot of kids dream of and never get despite working just as hard as some athletes. If they still need money for basic needs, make it a rule in the NCAA that there needs to be time set aside for these kids to volunteer or work during school to earn extra money. TEACH THEM SOME RESPONSIBILITY. The world is not full of handouts, teach them that from the beginning, that if you want something, like a playstation3, a spot on a team, a high draft spot, or a fancy car, you EARN it on your own. The hell with stipends, they have time set aside to go to class, they should have time set a side to take care of their financial needs as well by working for it. And what makes us think that these "stipends" will be enough. Do we really think giving kids just enough to get by will stop them from taking when offered lavish luxuries from agents? The point is, college is a place where kids should be turned into adults. Adults that know how to function in the real world. We need to teach them responsibility, ethics and perserverence. We need to teach college kids that hard work, respect, and responsibility eventually may give them their dream of being an NFL player, but that taking handouts, lying, cheating, and trying to "beat the system" will ensure that their dreams never come true. If we do that, we might just get players that don't start dog fighting rings, beat their wives/girlfriends, have outlandish affairs with mistresses, shoot themselves in nightclubs, get caught with pot and firearms in their car, etc. A lot of these kids had to walk away from terrible environments where this stuff was commonplace in order to reach the NCAA let alone the NFL. We shouldn't give them a reason to bring it back into their lives. Teach them to be hard working, upstanding, model citizens, ones that are worthy of being called role models. Then we can fill the NFL with THOSE players. Thats the NFL I want my future son to see. Thanks for showing complete ignorance on how college"academics" work. The universities reap untold millions from the students, all while making it nearly impossible to play on a D-I team and actually pay enough attention to class to get a worthwhile degree. As for the giant signing bonuses, sure thats great for the 30-40 players that good money from the draft. But what about the other 8,000 D-I football players? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLiveRalph Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 (edited) I have two close friends who have told me some stories, and as such, none of this article surprises me. Excellent read, and good for the guy to come forward. My friends' experiences: One friend is currently a licensed NFLPA agent. I went to college with him. He is far from the Rosenhaus/Steinberg level of agent, but represents roughly 8 or so current NFL players, and a few baseball players. No big-name players. He has candidly told me about many, many, east coast college football players that he has provided with payments and benefits. Countless amounts. He says the same things that were mentioned in the article. "If they don't take my money, they're just going to take someone elses." "CODB- Cost of doing buisness." He is also a practicing attorney. He loves college sports but hates the organization of the NCAA and thinks they are committing robbery in plain daylight. The other friend played O-line at a middle-of-the-road ACC school. He was a good player, an all-conference player, got drafted in the 3rd round of the NFL draft, and had an unremarkable but decent 7-year NFL career. When he was at college, he became a starter his sophomore year and showed NFL potential. In the summer between his junior and senior year, he had a new Land Rover and his parents had a new Land Rover. His family was middle class and his parents had a Honda Accord before the Land Rover. He NEVER admitted (to me at least) that the cars were gifts from an agent, or boosters, or whomever. It was just kind of understood. He said it without saying it. I know for a fact his family did not have the finances to buy the vehicles themselves. But what really struck me was that he was an O-lineman for an unranked, non-historic football program. It really made me wonder what benefits the stars of a big-time school received. Edited October 13, 2010 by LongLiveRalph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowery4 Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 I really think that they could and should just hire they kids who play FB in the NCAA, the whole system needs to change, stop the scholarships and pay them outright. It has been and always will be a scam waiting to happen. It could be set up like hockey and just have a farm league under the NFL and a college system together. Hell if they did it internationally and put teams in sense-able places that might support American football global expansion would be much easier. I am thinking like Australia, NZ, Mexico, Canada, England and Germany any place that has a kind of football sport like Rugby or proximity to the US, should be considered for this kind of plan. The NFL is supporting the NCAA in this system as it is now to their own detriment. No one think creatively when there are static-quos and monopolies tho. As long as the laws in this country don't criminalize the NFL monopoly, we are held hostage and nothing changes it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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