One more NCAA season or NFL?
October 5, 2009 in Random Slop by The Pig
The Pig
Over the years, we have seen many players faced with the option of coming back for another season of NCAA football or moving on to the NFL. As college football fans we often cheer when the choice is made to stick it out for the college years. Often, we act like this is not only the best choice for the fans, but that it is a good choice for the student as well. We talk about the integrity to finish what you start, keeping commitments, putting acedemics first and on and on. Many were happy to see Peyton stick around. Many cheered when Tebow and Bradford came back this season. But speaking of Bradford…
Now that he has been injured and hopes of a championship season are all but gone, do we really believe that he made the best choice? I am personally of the mind that so very few have what it takes to play in the NFL that it may actually be the wise choice to make that jump when you can. Why risk injury or a weak performance during that last year? I know that it is possible to show yourself to be worth even more money at the professional level by having a stellar senior year; but, are the odds in your favor? It appears to me that those who come back are playing the lottery with their lives.
Many articles have been written in the past stating that the NFL can wait. I say that college can wait. Many NFL players will never make use of their collegiate acedemics. And, if you do need it later in life, you can always go back and finish college.
Let me know what you think.
Scott Morgan said:
This topic has always sparked massive debate, I am surprise that no one has commented on it in the last year. As a teacher I believe in education coming first, however, I can see the merits of leaving early to make money and avoid injury. You can go either way on this. While it is true that many players don’t use their education after playing, there are many players that are not stars that have to have their education to fall back on, and it is true that they can always return to college to finish, the reality is that very few ever do so.
The sad fact is that many elite athletes use college as a means to get to the pros, but the numbers that actually make it to the pros are not as great as you would think. On top of that how many times have we heard about the guys that have finished their career and ended up broke because they 1) Did not know how to manage their money, and 2) Then did not have the education to do anything else. That is the really sad part to me. I really support athletes like Peyton that stuck around, as we can see it did not effect him in the slightest, yes there is always a chance that a player can get hurt, but as with Bradford he has recovered and is now starting as a rookie!
September 16th, 2010 at 8:15 am