NCAA votes to allow high school draftees to have agents

(AP) In a ruling that many feel is long overdue, the NCAA will now allow high school players who are drafted to have an agent negotiate for them with major league clubs without affecting their NCAA eligibility.

According to Baseball America’s Teddy Cahill, the new measure passed by a 75-2 vote at the NCAA Convention held on Friday. It’s important to note though that the rule will only impact high school players. College players with eligibility remaining will not be allowed to use an agent in contract negotiations without jeopardizing their eligibility.

[Elsewhere: Orioles up ante, make Chris Davis richest man in franchise history]

Here’s a little more on the vote and what will now be permitted under the new law.

A proposal that was sponsored by the Big 12 Conference as a part of the process the Power Five conferences have to autonomously adopt legislation easily passed by a vote of 75-2 with three abstentions. The rule goes into effect immediately for the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12, Big Ten Conference, Pacific 12 Conference and the Southeastern Conference. Other Division I conferences may adopt the rule if they so choose.

High school draftees must pay the agent’s going rate and may not receive any additional benefits. If they do not sign, they must terminate their relationship with the agent before enrolling in college.

Until now, a high school player was only allowed to have an adviser while the player and his family handled negotiations. The adviser was not allowed to participate in negotiations or be present when face-to-face meetings with MLB teams were taking place. Furthermore, the adviser could not organize workouts with MLB teams on behalf of the player.

Perhaps some of those details don’t seem like a big deal, but also remember these are high school players and parents of high school players. Many of them wouldn’t know where to begin in terms of putting together a deal or organizing a workout. Having an adviser surely helped to some degree, but there was such a fine line that couldn’t be crossed that it understandably hampered that process for many players. Now that the rule has been changed, it should remove any confusion or doubts that existed.

As Cahill also points out, the NCAA’s rules prohibiting agents was challenged in the past. Oklahoma State pitcher Andy Oliver was suspended in 2008 after allegedly allowing an agent to negotiate with the Twins when he was drafted in the 17th round out of high school. He eventually sued the NCAA and settled the case for $750,000.

[Elsewhere: Baltimore restaurant offers Yoenis Cespedes crab legs for life]

There’s also reason to believe that there were instances where an adviser took on a greater role but it was simply never reported, making the rule impossible to enforce with any consistency. Oregon State pitcher Ben Wetzler was caught on the wrong side of that following the 2013 draft when he was suspended by the NCAA for inappropriate use of a financial adviser in dealing with the Philadelphia Phillies. It was reported the Phillies turned him in after he declined to sign.

None of that is a concern though, which should make the process much smoother for future players. But one can’t help but wonder how much past players could have benefited from these different rules.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports: