ESPN NFL

Gene Upshaw, the executive director of the NFL Players' Association, wants agents to stay away from college football players until they've officially declared for the draft and he's planning to propose a rule to enforce it.

"I would like to see us strengthen the rules on recruiting. I want a rule that states an agent cannot approach a player until he has declared he is coming out for the NFL draft," Upshaw told the Washington Post.

Under current rules, there are no restrictions for when agents can contact college athletes, although they are prohibited from doing anything that would cause a player to lose his eligibility, such as signing a player while he's still playing or giving a player a gifts, money or loans.

The union's initiative comes after a report that Reggie Bush received money from marketing agents while he played at Southern California.

According to a report by Yahoo! Sports, Reggie Bush and his family "appeared" to have received more than $100,000 in financial benefits from marketing agents while Bush played at USC.

The Web site reported that the benefits, which could lead the NCAA to retroactively declare Bush ineligible and level sanctions against the Trojans, were supplied by two groups that were attempting to sign Bush as a client. Bush also could be stripped of his Heisman Trophy.

The players' association is in charge of certifying and disciplining agents. Players' financial advisors, while not controlled by the union, are only regulated under a voluntary program.