A former sports agent told Sports Illustrated he paid college football players early in his career, and several of them confirmed it to the magazine.
In the Oct. 18 edition, Josh Luchs said he paid more than 30 players from 1990 to '96, including many who didn't sign with him.
He said quarterback Ryan Leaf, the second pick in the 1998 draft who famously flopped in the pros, took more than $10,000, most of which he voluntarily paid back after signing with another agent. Leaf declined to comment on specific allegations.
Luchs told the magazine he also paid first-round picks Jamir Miller and Chris Mims. Miller, a linebacker from UCLA taken 10th by the Cardinals in 1994, declined comment. Mims, a defensive lineman from Tennessee taken 23rd by the Chargers in 1992, died in 2008.
The former agent also said that while he was recruiting Ohio State receiver Santonio Holmes in 2005, Holmes said he had been taking money from an agent for a couple of years. Holmes, now with the Jets, told the magazine and ESPNNewYork.com that the story was untrue.
Luchs was suspended for a year by the NFL Players Association in 2007 over the handling of a commission check. He says he's telling his story because "I don't want my career to be defined by that suspension."
