"Concerned about the quality of the agents representing
its players," the NFLPA in '96 sent a "basic quiz to agents
on a subject they should have known well," the CBA,
according to Mike Freeman, who took an extensive look at the
quality of NFL agents in Sunday's N.Y. TIMES. Agents could
use the CBA for reference for the test which featured "only
several dozen questions," but of the 200 to 250 agents who
took it, "some 40 percent either failed or scored poorly,
missing some of the most elementary questions about what
players are entitled to and what teams can demand in
negotiations." NFLPA Staff Counsel Arthur McAfee: "We were
disappointed with the results." Freeman wrote, "The
troubling experiment underscored the union's growing fears
that too many unqualified agents were operating in an
increasingly lucrative and opportune football marketplace."
While the number of agents has grown from about 500 in '90
to 800 this year, the union's "sense of unease about the men
and women representing its players has only deepened." The
number of disputes between players and agents has "risen
dramatically" and the SEC has "launched a criminal
investigation into whether agents have illegally served as
financial advisors to their clients." The union has "begun
implementing a range of safeguards to protect players,"
including plans to institute a stricter application process
that, "come next February, will make passing a test
mandatory" (Mike Freeman, N.Y. TIMES, 7/27).
