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| "What I have a real problem with is the way the NCAA is handling this..." - A former NCAA Baseball player |
by Nick Opich
2/21/2014
After a long winter in which America experienced extreme winter
storms and half of the country suffered from the Polar Vortex, spring has
finally arrived. The change in seasons is represented by the start of the
baseball, with colleges beginning their seasons in mid-February. Although this
should be an exciting time for the thousands of athletes who participate in the
sport, there is one player whose season is yet to begin, Oregon State
A report on February 19th by Baseball America
“An individual shall be ineligible
for participation in an intercollegiate sport if he or she ever has agreed
(orally or in writing) to be represented by an agent for the purpose of
marketing his or her athletics ability or reputation in that sport.”
The MLB Draft consists of up to 40 rounds with thousands of
high school seniors and collegiate juniors and seniors being selected. As a
junior, the Oregon State pitcher was selected by Philadelphia in the 5th round of
last June’s MLB Draft. The MLB Draft was held from June 6th-8th
and all teams had until July 12th at 5 p.m. EST to come to an agreement
with their draft picks. When the deadline passed, Wetzler and the Phillies had
failed to reach a deal.
Although the NCAA bylaw clearly states that players may not enlist
the services of an agent, it is a widely understood fact, according to one American
League scouting director, that “every single player that we deal with–I don’t
care what round you’re talking about–has representation, has an agent.” Sources
confirmed to Fitt that the Phillies “told the NCAA in November that Wetzler
violated the NCAA’s ‘no agent’ rule.” According to Fitt’s sources, the Phillies
also reported their sixth-round pick, Jason Monda, for the same violation but
the Washington State
Since the article’s publishing, neither Wetzler nor the
Phillies have made a public comment about the accusation.
If the report is accurate, then Philadelphia ’s actions seem extremely petty
and the organization comes off as sore losers after failed negotiations. By
notifying the NCAA of the violation, the Phillies went out of their way to
purposefully hurt the future draft stock and negotiating ability of Wetzler and
Monda. In addition, the NCAA’s prolonged investigation of Wetzler’s case makes
the collegiate association a willing participant in the Phillies pursuit to
punish a player they failed to sign.
The NCAA has been under fire in regards to student-athletes
recently with the O’Bannon
class-action antitrust lawsuit challenging the association’s ban on
compensation for athletes moving towards trial and Northwestern University’s
football players attempting to create the first labor
union for college athletes.
In an effort to gain further insight into the NCAA’s
treatment of student-athletes and the Wetzler situation, I spoke with a former
collegiate baseball player who was also selected highly in the 2013 MLB Draft.
The player spoke on the condition of anonymity but had very strong opinions
about the Wetzler situation and the NCAA:
- On the NCAA bylaw
concerning agents:
“While everyone knows the rule, the
rule is a joke; everyone has an agent when negotiating. Before the college
playoffs, the NCAA requires every player to sign a paper that states that they
don’t have an agent but with classes, life, and preparing for the playoffs it’s
almost impossible to think about negotiating a professional contract. I
understand that the rule is in place to keep money and sketchy agents from
influencing kids but that doesn’t really happen unless the player is a
high-profile 1st round talent coming out of high school. In my
experience I never saw a player receive anything more than getting a meal paid
for. The bigger problem is with sketchy boosters but that is another situation
entirely.”
- On Wetzler’s
situation:
“I saw Ben pitch last year and he
is a good pitcher and probably should have signed. I don’t know if he was
asking for too much money or what but I have no doubt that the Phillies are the
ones who put him in this situation. It’s probably alright for him though
because he is returning to a legit team at Oregon State
- On his own contract
negotiations:
“When I was drafted I told teams
not to call me on draft day but to get in contact with my advisor. My “advisor”
was a registered MLB agent who helped me get a fair deal with my team. I had no
worries about losing NCAA eligibility if I had been unable to come to an
agreement with my team. Only the team I was negotiating with could have been
the ones to report to the NCAA.”
- On whether or not
college players should be paid:
“Absolutely players should be paid.
When you look at the TV deals conferences sign and the amount of money schools
and coaches make, it is unfair that players see none of that. College athletes
don’t even receive guaranteed scholarships. They get one-year scholarships that
the schools have to renew each year so if a player for some reason loses that
they are screwed because they may not have the money to pay for the rest of
their school. I think schools should offer athletes four-year guaranteed
scholarships or just pay the students in cash with no scholarship. For example,
if you paid a player $600k, they could put about $20k into tuition and other
necessities each semester and spend the rest as they please.”
- On the unionization
of college athletes:
“If I had the opportunity I would
have joined a union while in college. The schools and conferences are making
decisions without our voices being heard and without any representation of the
athletes.”
This player’s statements confirm the AL scouting director’s claim that all
negotiations between teams and draftees take place with an agent present. His opinion
on the NCAA’s handling of Wetzler’s situation illustrates the association’s
unfair and unequal treatment of collegiate athletes and provides an example of
how a union can offer a nonfinancial benefit to student-athletes.
Players who are eligible for this year’s draft should be
paying close attention to this situation and how the NCAA handles Wetzler’s
fight for eligibility. It is also within reason to expect serious blowback for Philadelphia when it
comes time to any future contract negotiations. Fitt’s tweets from Feb. 20th confirm
this sentiment:
Hearing from one agent after another today about the Ben Wetzler situation. There will be repercussions for the Phillies.
— Aaron Fitt (@aaronfitt) February 20, 2014
One agent: "As of today, Phillies are out. Phillies are not getting into any more of our households. We're shutting down all communications"
— Aaron Fitt (@aaronfitt) February 20, 2014
Without question, the NCAA is running a faction of the Major
League Baseball’s minor league/player development system. Unlike the
traditional minor leagues, they are reaping all of the financial benefits of
the players’ contributions without paying salary, guaranteeing contracts, or
providing sufficient health insurance. The student-athletes are taken advantage
of in this crass arrangement and are unfairly without access to qualified and
appropriate representation.
*Update on Wetzler's situation since the posting of this article*
*Update on Wetzler's situation since the posting of this article*
BREAKING: Oregon State's Ben Wetzler will be suspended for 20 percent of the season, which includes time he's already missed.
— Aaron Fitt (@aaronfitt) February 21, 2014
Wetzler will miss his team's first 11 games this season and will be eligible to return Sunday, March 2nd.
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