The suspension last week of David Dunn and decertification of other major player representatives could provide a windfall of talent for reputable NFL agents, but agents eager to sign the likes of Drew Bledsoe and Carson Palmer may have to wait.

The NFL Players Union last week suspended Dunn, CEO of Athletes First, for two years and suspended the firm's executive director, Joby Branion, for one year for violating union regulations governing agent conduct.

The players union also decertified Sean Jones, a former player who has represented stars such as Julius Peppers and Courtney Brown with his former business partner, Marvin Demoff.

Last month the union decertified agent Steve Weinberg, who represented about 35 players, including NFL running back Stephen Davis.

Athletes First represents more than 50 football players, among them Bledsoe and expected No. 1 NFL draft pick Palmer.

"It is the greatest number of cases we have had at one time of this magnitude," said Richard Berthelsen, NFL Players Union general counsel.

IMG's Tom Condon said, "If the players are on the loose, there will be competition for their services." Condon, director of football for IMG, said, "I don't know quite how it is going to go because we have never seen anything like it before."

Prominent agent Eugene Parker said: "It is certainly like having an extra round of the draft. It's almost like having a new draft because there are so many high-profile players involved. It's like having two first rounds."

But an appeal by Dunn and Branion could delay the free-for-all. Complicating matters, Dunn has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and claims that those proceedings protect him from the union's action. The NFL Players Union said it will seek permission from Bankruptcy Court to maintain Dunn's suspension.

Jones' clients may fall to his former partner, Demoff.

Weinberg is appealing his decertification but currently is unable to represent players. Davis, who last week was cut from the Washington Redskins' roster, was interviewing agents last week.

Jones and Demoff did not return phone inquiries by press time for this story.

Mark Humenik, general counsel for Athletes First, said he could not comment on Dunn's suspension, because he had not received notification of it from the union. Humenik indicated that Dunn and Branion would appeal any suspension to the NFL Players Union arbitrator.

Of Branion's suspension, Humenik said: "Anybody who knows Joby Branion knows that he epitomizes honesty, integrity and commitment to his players. There is no evidence that Joby did anything wrong, let alone something that would justify a one-year suspension."

Bill Palmer, father of Carson Palmer, vowed that his son will stay with Dunn while he fights the NFL Players Union action. "Yes, he'll stay. Why wouldn't he?" He added that he expects Dunn will win the appeal of his suspension.

Louisville quarterback Dave Ragone also will likely stay with Dunn through the appeal, said Craig Lucas, Ragone's adviser.

It's not clear how long an appeal would take. The NFL Players Union has a track record of winning in appeals arbitration.

In all the cases, the agents were punished for acting against their players' interests. Berthelsen said, "More than anything, it says how serious our disciplinary committee is about dealing with violations of our agent regulations."

Business ethics experts say the punishment of athlete representation industry leaders may signal the beginning of a tough war to clean up the business.

"You have a serious problem here," said George Brenkert, professor of business ethics at Georgetown University. "When the leaders or stars of any industry, be it Enron or the heads of the U.S. executive branch, are doing the types of things you are describing, there is something rotten in the state of the athlete agency business.

"When those people at the very top are found to have engaged in ethically questionable behavior, it's a sign there may be something wrong, not just with those individuals but with the system or institution in which they are operating."

Richard Lapchick, Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports director, called the NFL Players Union actions "a wake-up call" for the agent business. Lapchick said the fact that the players union is going after powerful agents could "force other agents to do their business the way they are meant to do it."

Dunn and Branion were disciplined for conduct that was revealed in the testimony of a trial late last fall in which Dunn's former employer, Steinberg, Moorad & Dunn, sued him for breach of contract, among other things.

During that trial, players testified that they were solicited by Dunn and Branion to leave agent Leigh Steinberg and testified that Athletes First officials encouraged them to sign sworn declarations that were apparently not true.

Agent Jones was decertified because of information provided to the union by the lawyer for Dallas Cowboy Ebenezer Ekuban. Ekuban stated in a sworn declaration that Jones fraudulently induced him into participating in a $1 million bank loan, which has gone into default.

Additionally, the union acted against Jones because a Texas court recently upheld a National Association of Securities Dealers award of more than $500,000 against Jones. In that case, Jones' former teammate, Cris Dishman, alleged that Jones engaged in unauthorized trading and churning.

In Weinberg's case, the union decertified him for putting his own financial interests above his players', according to Berthelsen.