Start regulating player-agents

Published 5 November 2009 | By Morné

The more I hear of players apparently moving around (only to be denied) or rumours of exuberant amounts being offered to buy players out of current contracts the more irritated I get.

Not only does it make for bad news or reporting where every single rumour is followed by denial by relevant parties, but it also leaves a bad taste of the level of professionalism that exists in current SA Rugby structures.

Like anything in life you get the good with the bad, and I have no doubt that there are some very good player-agents out there but unfortunately the profession get’s tarnished more often than not with the bad ones.

I am referring specifically to the agents who act more than PR spinning machines than actual agents to increase the value of their players for the sole purpose of making that quick extra buck, than acting in the sport and the player’s best interests.

I am not for one second suggesting that agents should be forced to watch re-runs of Jerry McGuire 50 times a week but I would like to see agents act responsibly as experts of the industry (rugby) they operate in where they should in fact act as a consultant, or leading industry experts, advising players and unions of the best possible scenario’s and its implications.

More importantly, agents should be regulated and made to be held accountable for dodgy deals or not acting in the best interest of the game or players, or bringing the game of rugby into disrepute.

This regulating function or body, or the absence of it, is largely to blame for the circus we see every year with players moving around and the controversy around it. Just cast your mind back to a couple of cases in the last two years which ended up at the CCMA and independent arbitration.

Players themselves has publicly stated that their moves (to other, usually overseas clubs) were premature or not fully considered or understood which left them stranded in a place they do not like, forced to act as mercenaries to fulfil contractual obligations they did not fully appreciate when they signed them.

We all sign contracts and none of us read 50 pages of fine print when doing so. We act on the faith and trust we have in the advisor or advisors who are supposed to be leading industry experts in those areas, but like most salespeople, some agents seem to be selling more bullshit and not fact when advising players to commit to certain deals knowing full well that it will not be in their best interest but at least, still making a pretty penny out of the deal.

The responsibility of establishing a regulatory body falls solely on the shoulders of SA Rugby, and make no mistake, the Players Association (who I criticise often) and some agents have been pushing for something to be established for years now, only to fall on deaf ears at the offices of SA Rugby.

So as unbelievable as it may sound, there are some good guys out there who advises their players on all the risks before committing them to any contract or deal, but like most unregulated thing in business, they, together with the players and unions are suffering because of the sharks of the industry who care for nothing other than the Dollar signs they see when entering negotiations.

I have heard too many horror stories of how things went badly wrong to know that although business is hard and cruel, without some form of regulation the industry and in this case the game of rugby will ultimately suffer because of the greed and incompetence of the parties responsible to change this.

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