Every year in the world of sports, we hear about whether college athletes will skip one’s final year of eligibility and enter the draft in his/her respective sport. There has been a debate as to whether college athletes should wait until he/she has finished all 4 years of school before making the jump to the draft.
Ramogi Huma, founder of the National College Players Association, said that a coach once told him during an NFL off-season meeting that, “was an NFL guy with real potential.” Even with the nice comments, Huma was surprised saying in part, “I was going to make sure I got my degree, and I really didn’t think the NFL was much of a possibility for me,” but continues by saying there was an outside shot that would happen.
According to National Collegiate Athletic Association’s own data, barely over 50% of NCAA Division I players who believe it is possible or likely to play in the NFL. Huma’s career ended in 1998, he injured his hip and ended up in a group of 98% of college football players who never play in the NFL. Even if Huma had not suffered the hip injury, he still believes his chances of going pro were still slim.
I am not a fan of making rules for one sport and not applying it to the other ones, but for college football players, I strongly believe it is in the best interest of athletes in that sport whether in division I, II or III to remain at their college/university for all 4 years.
At the end of the day, what is more important: being able to play your favorite sport or finishing your education? Of course, if you ask any college football player in this example, they would say both are goals they want to achieve but with the slim chances of making the NFL, is it worth it to forgo your last year of eligibility and take the chance of not being with an NFL team?
In Men’s Basketball, the perception of making it to the pros in division I is 76%, the reality is 1.2%, in Women’s Basketball, the perception is 44%, reality 1.9%, baseball 60%, reality is 9.4%. I can go on and on but even if one thinks he/she is talented enough to make it to the highest level of his/her sport, the assumption is badly mistaken.
In 2010, the NCAA celebrated their 100th anniversary of student athletes with this message:
Apparently many college athletes current and past have never seen commercials like these and/or have never read some of the stats and the slim chances that come with being a student athlete and his/her aspirations after college.
There are many college athletes who are very good in the college level but when it comes to competing in the pro’s in whatever sport it is, he/she tends to be no match for the next level.
While each of the major sports can be dangerous in different ways, in the NFL off-season, NFL players who just came into the league have already announced their retirement at such a young age. Case in point, in the past week, San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Anthony Davis announced his retirement from the NFL at age 25. He was the 11th overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft and before last season had played every game in the schedule but in the 2014 NFL season, missed 9 games and had been suffering from concussion like symptoms.
Even without the injury issues that NFL players have had to deal with, I still believe that in order for any student athlete to declare for the draft, he/she should at least have been a junior in all sports. Plus with the low probability of making it to the pro’s in most sports, having more experience at the college level can help ‘some’ prepare better for the pro’s, i.e. playing all 4 years as opposed to 2 or 3 years.
The biggest reason to account for this paranoia that I refer it to as, is that back in one’s high school days, these athletes are often given not necessarily bad advice but misleading advice. Playing football at the high school and college level are much different than playing in the NFL even though football at all levels is dangerous. However, it is often the case that people who coach football at the high school level have never coached at levels above high school. As a result, many high school coaches and college to a large extent, do not have the working knowledge that is necessary to prepare their student athletes to succeed in the highest levels of his/her sports.
Many student athletes especially at the high school level play sports whatever it is just for the short term and not to make millions of dollars someday but with the concussions that we’ve seen in the NFL, one often makes more money working at a financial firm in the long term or as a scientist. Case in point, one of my friends I’ve known for a good amount of time, Andrew Starks, played with the Chicago Bears in the 2013 pre-season but never went any further beyond that, he now works at Merrill Lynch and is a graduate of Princeton University.
While many professional want to be athletes may never hear this story, I hope stories like this will make these athletes think twice before acting because many do not think about the risks and low probability of getting to their promise land. Of course its understandable to feel elated about playing in the NFL, NHL, NBA or MLB but I think many athletes tend not to exercise the best judgment.
Starks attended one of the most prestigious universities in America, finishing school and having that diploma carries its own weight. While many are not able to attend schools like Princeton, any student athlete does not need to attend a school with that level of notoriety to understand that while playing a sport like football can be important to an individual, I just wish more people like Starks would understand the resources that people like him have.
More importantly, with the low probability of making the NFL, it could be a benefit in that the lifespan of an NFL player past and present is significantly lower. At the end of the day, shouldn’t the lifespan factor be the overriding factor in deciding whether to go for the NFL draft? Its unfortunate to see players like Davis at age 25 to call it quits but if more of these stories happen, that could make more of these athletes think twice and more importantly, exercise better judgment.
ryanhackman1026 