The Agent and the Cornerback

Kevin Porter was Auburn's starting cornerback and, in 1987, rated the best in the country. On 3 August 1987, in Atlanta, agent Jim Abernethy had Porter sign a three-year contract making Abernethy his representative for pro and endorsement deals, for 5% of salary and 10% of endorsements. Abernethy handed over $2,000 at signing and promised $900 a month, $400 at Thanksgiving, $500 at Christmas and $100 for every interception. Porter collected $900 in September and $900 in October, then nothing after Abernethy quit the agency business. The deal broke NCAA rules and made Porter ineligible, yet he played all eleven regular-season games for Auburn that autumn. The Atlanta Constitution exposed the arrangement on 15 December 1987; Porter was declared ineligible and sat out the Sugar Bowl. Lee County prosecutors charged Abernethy with commercial bribery, an unlawful trade practice and tampering with a sports contest, a statute aimed at anyone who acts with intent to influence the outcome of a contest. Nobody in Alabama had ever prosecuted an agent this way. At the close of the State's case the trial judge remarked that the statutes had been stretched to almost the breaking point, but let the case go to the jury. Porter testified that he played his very best in every game and that the contract affected his play not at all.