Auburn’s Bruce Says Agents Offered Cash

Auburn linebacker Aundray Bruce, already signed by the Atlanta Falcons, who have the top pick in Sunday’s National Football League draft, said sports agents offered him “shopping bags filled with money” while he was in school.

Bruce, who declined to identify the agents, said he did not accept the money.

In a story in the Alabama Journal of Montgomery, the 21-year-old Bruce said that agents tried to sign him during his final year at Auburn.

“Oh yes, it occurred several times,” said Bruce, who has signed a five-year, $4.1-million deal with the Falcons. “People would come up to me with not actual briefcases, but bags. They would walk up to you with just plain shopping bags filled with money. It was yours for the taking.”

Bruce said he refused the money because he wanted to finish his senior year at Auburn and did not want to embarrass his family.

“You just have to sit down and say, ‘Hey, if I have patience, I’ll receive mine the right way,’ ” he said.