DeMaurice Smith (Getty Images)

By Rand Getlin and Jason Cole

NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith referred long-time former colleagues to defend Drew Rosenhaus during an NFLPA arbitration, Yahoo! Sports has learned.

That action has ruffled the feathers of multiple prominent agents who spoke to Yahoo! Sports on the condition of anonymity, expressing frustration at what they termed a significant conflict of interest. The agents have alleged that Smith’s referral – essentially aiding Rosenhaus in defending himself before an NFLPA arbitrator – is a clear example of Smith protecting an agent rather than impartially governing.

“It’s a major conflict of interest for the executive director of the NFLPA to be referring attorneys to Rosenhaus,” one agent said.

The paramount issue at hand is that the NFLPA may eventually have to sanction Rosenhaus in his case, which involves a dispute between the well-known agent and former employee Danny Martoe. Martoe was a longtime employee of Rosenhaus Sports

Out-of-work NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens is suing a financial adviser, a South Florida bank and others for mismanaging his finances, according to documents obtained by Yahoo! Sports.

Terrell Owens last played in the NFL in 2010. (AP)Owens alleges that the close relationship between defendants Jeff Rubin, his financial firm (Pro Sports Financial) and Florida-based Bank Atlantic led to PSF employees engaging in various instances of financial mismanagement of Owens’ account without his knowledge.

Among Owens' claims in the filing:

• That PSF opened an account at Florida-based Bank Atlantic without his knowledge or authorization.

• That Owens' signature on that account was forged.

• That PSF employee Tequilla Harris and others made "numerous unusual and extraordinary withdrawals" from that account without Owens' authorization.

• That PSF made "unauthorized loans and or funds transfers" to other PSF clients who held accounts at Bank Atlantic, including former NFL player Jevon Kearse and another Rubin-controlled

MIAMI – The NFL Players Association is investigating the relationship between agent Drew Rosenhaus and a former financial adviser who persuaded a number of players to invest in a failed Alabama bingo casino, a source with knowledge of the inquiry told Yahoo! Sports.

Brothers Drew (R) and Jason Rosenhaus at an NFL game last season. (US Presswire)According to multiple sources who talked to Y! Sports on the record and for background, Rosenhaus and Jeff Rubin had an unusually close business relationship that spanned upwards of seven years. That relationship might have resulted in Rosenhaus breaching the fiduciary duties all agents who are certified by the NFLPA owe to their clients. The relationship has been scrutinized in part because of a series of issues surrounding Rubin, who is at the center of a bankruptcy filing for the failed casino that cost the players as much as $43.6 million.

Starting in 2003, Rubin was questioned about financial transactions that could have raised red flags for a financial adviser, a five-month Y! Sports investigation has found.

A suspended employee of Rosenhaus Sports is alleging that the prominent agency owes him more than $1 million in commissions and compensatory damages, according to an arbitration filing with the NFL Players Association. Yahoo! Sports previously obtained a memo regarding the arbitration, but full details of the filing were unknown.

Drew (R) and Jason Rosenhaus during an NFL game last season. (US Presswire)Rosenhaus Sports vice president Danny Martoe accuses brothers Drew and Jason Rosenhaus of breach of contract and fraud. Martoe, who has worked with the agency since 2005 but is currently on administrative leave with pay, says he "contributed to over ninety-one (91) players becoming Rosenhaus Sports clients," according to the filing. Among those clients are Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant, who recently fired Drew Rosenhaus, San Francisco 49ers safety Dashon Goldson, Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen, Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Lawrence Timmons and New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.

In a 2010 email cited in the arbitration