Agents and Accountability: If the NCAA Can't Fix It, Can the NFL?

Panama City Beach, Fla.—Nick Saban may be reaching for his Tums right about now in Alabama. Butch Davis in North Carolina has been on Malox for a while now, Steve Spurrier is looking for his Zantac, and Florida's Urban Meyer is taking more BC's for his migraines.

Such are the fates of coaches who instead of enjoying the slow days of summer are sweating it out wondering what will come of agents who have meddled with their players.

In light of the news that an Alabama star may have attended an agent's party in Miami, Nick Saban today came up with a clear and concise plan of attack.

That plan is simple, work with the NFL and the player's union and have any agent that causes a college player to lose eligibility to lose the right to represent an NFL player.

It's simple and genius.

Only then could the agents finally have something to lose in all of this, and until that happens, there is nothing that will make them stop meddling in the affairs of the NCAA.

I personally know Nick Saban and have been around him enough to know that he's not unlike the other coaches mentioned above. Each has talked to players time and again about even the appearance of anything improper, and yet each have had players stray from the straight and narrow and at least put themselves in a bad light.

But how can a 20- to 21-year-old young man turn down something as alluring as a party with lots of hot girls and some great food in a hot town like Miami or Los Angeles or New York?

In the real world you go and arrest the pedophiles that offer young children the candy to entice them to come along with them, but in the world of college athletics, you can offer them anything without repercussion.

That is what has to stop and stop now.

Can the NCAA work with the NFL to put an end to it? Agents have never been a favorite of the leadership of the NFL and if anyone puts up a fight it could be the player's union.

One thing is for certain though, with no power over agents, the NCAA will have to look elsewhere for help in fixing this problem. Whether it is ever done or not will rely on them being successful at finding that partner.