Player agent Marvin Espiritu sees plenty of benefits in the unrestricted free agency which the PBA will start implementing this year.
“I think it’s a win-win situation for the team, the player and for the league itself,” Espiritu said in Saturday’s episode of Power and Play. “In the long run, it will create parity so I think this rule can favor both sides.”
The PBA agreed during the latter part of commissioner Chito Salud’s tenure to allow players starting with the draft class of 2014 to freely choose which teams they can sign once their contracts expire.
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said in previous interviews that the league has yet to come up with possible guidelines in order for the rule to be fully implemented.
Under current league rules, teams hold the player’s rights even if they are left unsigned, and the only way for free agent to entertain other offers is if they can secure a release from their ballclubs.
The new ruling, Espiritu said, gives chances for superstars and role players to test the market and see if there are teams that can offer more than what they got from their previous contracts.
Players can get a maximum contract of three years and a monthly salary up to P420,000, plus other perks which normally sweetens the deal.
“For example, he’s a superstar and he feels he’s underpaid, then he can test the market para sa sarili niya malaman niya kung worth ba siya ng max salary na hinihiling niya,” he said.
“Or if a role player can blossom into a superstar from one team to another,” said the son of long-time player agent Danny Espiritu.