Amid much controversy over the last week, the NCAA released a statement Monday afternoon that reversed their decision which required agents representing players to have a bachelors degree.
Many critics instantly dubbed the new qualifications, “The Rich Paul Rule” named after Rich Paul, who represents players among the likes of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Ben Simmons.
The NCAA said, student-athletes now can be represented by agents who meet the following requirements:
- Have a bachelor’s degree and/or are currently certified and in good standing with the NBPA.
- Have NBPA certification for a minimum of three consecutive years.
- Maintain professional liability insurance.
- Complete the NCAA qualification exam.
- Pay the required fees.
Paul wrote a guest column for The Athletic on Monday in which he criticized the NCAA for creating barriers for young people who do not have the means or desire to attend college. He also said he supported the part of the new rule that requires agents to have three years of experience.
Many believe the situation with Paul and former Syracuse recruit Darius Bazley was part of the inspiration behind the NCAA introducing new criteria.
Bazley was a five-star recruit from the class of 2018 and originally committed to Jim Boeheim’s program at Syracuse. Last March he announced he would go straight to the G Leauge, however, signed with Klutch Sports. Paul arranged a deal for Bazley to have an internship at New Balance that would pay the basketball player $1 million over five years as long as he’s in the NBA, and potentially as much as $14 million. It gave the shoe/apparel company early access to a future NBA player and also allowed Bazley to learn about an industry he cared about.
Bazley ended up becoming the No. 23 overall pick in this year’s draft and is now with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
