The NCAA recently implemented the so-called Rich Paul Rule, which now requires agents looking to represent student-athletes to have obtained at least a bachelor’s degree, among other things.
It was heavily scrutinized as many thought it more so aimed at super agent Rich Paul.
“A bachelor’s degree, NBPA certification for at least three consecutive years, professional liability insurance and completion of an in-person exam taken at the NCAA office in Indianapolis in early November.”
Rich Paul is LeBron’s agent, who represents a handful of NBA stars, including Anthony Davis, Draymond Green, John Wall and Ben Simmons. He also did not graduate from college, but has became the league’s most powerful agent.
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On Wednesday, the NCAA subsequently issued a statement that seemed to fire back at LeBron and anybody else that believes this rule is because of Rich Paul’s influence.
“Although some can and have been successful without a college degree, as a higher education organization the NCAA values a college education and continues to emphasize the importance of earning a degree,” the statement reads. “We were guided by recommendations from the Commission on College Basketball — which spoke with the agent and advisor community — that the NCAA certification process should be more stringent than current processes.
“With this in mind, we benchmarked our new rules against requirements for other organizations that certify agents, like the NBPA which also requires agents to have a bachelor’s degree. While different and distinct, our rules taken together, which is the manner they were meant to be examined, provide a clear opportunity for our student-athletes to receive excellent advice from knowledgeable professionals on either the college or professional path they choose.”
The rules went into effect on Aug. 1st. That memo was sent out to agents:
The NCAA may be shooting themselves in the foot even more as top talent may forego the college route altogether and head overseas like RJ Hampton and Kenyon Martin Jr. have already done.
