Is it really an agents fault if they act solely on behalf of the player? At the end of the day the player is presented all offers and signs the dotted line. Not sure agents are holding a gun to their head when they do so.
There is a-lot of talk about agents with their own agendas but I cant recall too many articles (possibly none) where players have come out and declared they were deceived and if they had the chance again they wouldn't take the lucrative deals on offer and give back their homes and families lifestyles in return for making the greater public feel better about themselves. Everyone is entitled to earn a living, if that living is on another continent and will possibly give them a life they only dreamed of so be it.
The issue is though whether agents are acting solely in the players interest or largely in their own.
A simple google search shows plenty of info on issues. One agent is currently in two legal disputes with former clients. There is an article which details who agents have significant incentive to pursue overseas contracts at the expense of local ones and there is a research article crossing multiple sports, including league, AFL, rugby and US sports which details conflict of interest problems arising where agents represent multiple players or players and coaches at a single club.
To be fair, it is not an issue isolated to player agents. Wherever remuneration systems are set up around sales performance or budget you will always have elements that chase the money.
This is not to say that plenty/most agents don’t do the right thing, or even that Piccone isn’t in the right here - I have no idea on the last point.
