FORMER PBA commissioner Noli Eala scoffed at the notion that the league is thinking about making revisions to the recently implemented unrestricted free agency rule that was almost a decade in the making.
Noli Eala on PBA free agency rule
Under the historic rule, the PBA has given players – at the end of their seventh season – the power to choose which team to play for, with Rodney Brondial and Nards Pinto being the first two to enjoy the freedom.
But with SMC teams San Miguel and Ginebra making the first moves by getting Brondial and Pinto, respectively, current commissioner Willie Marcial said that the board of governors could revisit the game-changing rule if the effect won’t benefit the league overall in the long run.
Eala, who served as commissioner from 2003 to 2007, believes the league had all the time to make changes before implementing the rule.
“Urong-sulong policy? PBA had a seven-year gestation period to make this airtight,” Eala said in a repost of the Spin.ph story on Twitter. “Free agency is a great concept. But execution can’t be simplistic.”
Eala made suggestions on what the PBA should’ve done.
“Safeguards like a period to exercise UFA should have been imposed so teams can prepare. Plus clean up the Salary Cap,” he said.
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