A record 136 college football players with eligibility remaining are set to enter the NFL draft this year, so you may be wondering if the day will come when a high school player could skip his senior year and bolt to the pros.
Relax. National Football League rules say a player must be three years out of high school to declare for the draft. Then again, beware. The NFL has changed its rules 97 times since 1986.
To put this in perspective, MLB has had roughly 100 significant rules adjustments in the past 100 years. According to Alan Schwarz, senior writer for “Baseball America” magazine, there are 12 MLB modifications he considers worth mentioning.
Among them, in 1893 the mound was moved from 50 feet to 60 feet 6 inches. The Spitball was abolished in 1921; expansion came in 1961; the designated hitter was added in 1973 and free agency began in 1975. A walk was nine balls in 1874 and hitters were granted four strikes in 1887.
Everything in sports changes but few more dramatically than the NFL.
If Texas high school football can find it necessary to use video reviews on challenged plays, the NFL and greedy agents can find a way to lure junior out of high school early.
Which brings to mind: Isn’t dangling the carrot of a free education a bit archaic as enticement for today’s recruits? Some college players do take advantage of a full ride. Many don’t stick around the old alma mater long enough to learn the school song. A pot of NFL gold is just too seductive.
It’s hard to blame players for wanting a piece of their school’s wealth. They put bottoms in the seats while universities and head coaches reap millions. Five SEC coaches earned a collective $35.1 million last year. Big time college football now rivals the NFL as a business.
So the questions linger:
Should college players be handsomely paid? And with rich schools getting richer, are there more than 10 or 15 colleges with a realistic chance of winning a national championship?
According to “Forbes” Texas A&M passed Texas as the nation’s wealthiest football program last year—followed by Michigan, Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Auburn, LSU, Georgia and Florida.
However, to say only the richest schools have a chance is true to a point. “Bloomberg” reported that Alabama’s $97 million football revenue last year more than doubled the entire Clemson athletic budget.
A Greenville (SC) News sportswriter said Clemson has figured out how to eat Filet Mignon on T-Bone money.
Well said. Wonder if the Longhorns and Aggies are listening?
Ted Buss can be reached by emailing [email protected]
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