Consider the Continuing Education Program, which allows teams to offer potential money to reimburse a signee for college or vocational education. It’s commonplace, and in theory, it looks harmless.
Commissioner Rob Manfred sent out a memo
warning teams not to use “exorbitant” CEP offers to post-draft signees in order to recruit them.
The rules seem clear at first: the team will pay for school and living expenses to allow a player to finish his degree if he’s enrolled or committed.
It’s the specific
type of degree promised that can be manipulated.
“Some teams were willing to offer grad school money to college seniors, that could be a potentially large number,” said one executive. Nowhere in the rules does it say ‘undergraduate degree,’ for the record.
And it’s an easy promise to make, as the funds are not often drawn down once established.
“The actual value of those continuing education allotments — which sit on balance sheets for years and years — is usually lower than what’s promised, if they’re ever used,” pointed out one front office member. “Once the player loses their eligibility to play for the college, the same degree at the same school may not be attainable for the player. What college are they
actually going to go to later?”