AMID a veritable bidding war for blue-chip prospects where the stakes have the become higher and higher each year, a move to set limits on allowances and other perks that UAAP schools can give to its players is awaiting action.
Sources told SPIN.ph the move to put a cap on allowances given to players and a law defining what schools can - and cannot - give to its recruits has been with league officials for the 'past one or two years' but yet to be implemented.
UAAP ceiling on allowances
One of the provisions seeks a limit of P15,000 to P20,000 for the monthly stipend given to student athletes, a source bared.
Curiously, the proposal has yet to be discussed at length either by the UAAP board or the board of regents, made up of the presidents of the eight member schools, while the cost of putting up competitive varsity teams continue to spiral each year.
"It's there," says a source who asked not to be named, "but it's never been discussed in the board level."
In July 2021, the league announced that member schools have agreed to put a limit on 'benefits' offered to top recruits. But nothing much has been heard since and one insider said implementation and monitoring have been lax, at best.
READ: UAAP sets limits on 'benefits' offered to top recruits
The revelation comes amid calls for league action to curb spending especially on perks given to blue-chip prospects, which some quarters blame for a recruitment war that is one-sided in favor of schools with deeper pockets.
Unfair recruitment practices eventually hurt league parity, they contend.
Over the last decade or so, talk of multi-million budgets for top basketball programs, insane perks given to incoming freshmen that include house and lots for their families, and seven-figure signing bonuses have become rampant.
Figures on perks given to five-star recruits being talked about in league circles reached obscene proportions at around the time the gap between teams with big budgets from alumni boosters and those with none widened.
READ What are the exact rules on recruitment of UAAP athletes?
One league insider believes most school are in favor of a cap on perks and allowances, saying the amount can be anything, so long as all the teams comply. "Kahit magkano pa 'yan, so long as lahat magkasundo," he said.
However, monitoring and enforcement can be dodgy for the league, unless the schools become transparent with all transactions.
The PBA by-laws call for the strict implementation of caps on team and individual salaries and bonuses. But monitoring has become a giant headache for the Commissioner's Office as under-the-table deals became open secrets in the league.
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