Could this be THE END for College Football?

[Santa]

It can be fixed. Just require a college football player to complete his degree before he can go to the league. If a player graduates in 3 years....they can go. Here is my reasoning behind this. Most of us who work, may have needed a degree in order to get their job. The NFL is a company no different from any other company other than it makes billions per year. Most players that makes the league will only play a few years before their bodies give out. So the player has a fallback plan to make a living outside of football.

Why would the NFL do that? If anything, they compete with the NCAA for viewers and fans. Why would they help them and gain nothing for themselves?

 

[Cash]

Mike Shanahan and someone associated with the New England Patriots are putting together a new league to compete head-to-head with the NCAA.

The league will feature kids who have been out of high school 4 years or less, will be called the Pacific Pro Football League and will originally feature 4 teams in California, with the idea to expand later to other states.

The league will PAY PLAYERS directly out of high school and will have pro-style schemes that are designed to prepare kids directly for the NFL. There will be no limits on practice time, no useless academic requirements, no NCAA rules.... just football and NFL preparation.

No more slave labor, and no more getting sanctions for selling your own autograph. Now every kid with some talent has a chance to "feed the fam." See the link below.




Pacific Pro Football League Details Announced for Non-NFL-Eligible Players | Bleacher Report

And no more college education for kids who will have a very minimized professional career with nothing to fall back on. Yeah good idea!

How about giving the kids and their families a CHOICE instead of assuming that we know what's best for them?

Nobody is going to force kids to play in this league and college, I assume, will remain an option

Not assuming anything. They go to school and get an education then they have choices. If they go straight to a paid league and they're right back to square one when things don't work out. The NCAA is taking advantage of these kids not the schools.

 

[Dingaan1828]

I'm 100% in favor of giving kids an OPTION to college football.

 

[Santa]

Mike Shanahan and someone associated with the New England Patriots are putting together a new league to compete head-to-head with the NCAA.

The league will feature kids who have been out of high school 4 years or less, will be called the Pacific Pro Football League and will originally feature 4 teams in California, with the idea to expand later to other states.

The league will PAY PLAYERS directly out of high school and will have pro-style schemes that are designed to prepare kids directly for the NFL. There will be no limits on practice time, no useless academic requirements, no NCAA rules.... just football and NFL preparation.

No more slave labor, and no more getting sanctions for selling your own autograph. Now every kid with some talent has a chance to "feed the fam." See the link below.




Pacific Pro Football League Details Announced for Non-NFL-Eligible Players | Bleacher Report

And no more college education for kids who will have a very minimized professional career with nothing to fall back on. Yeah good idea!

How about giving the kids and their families a CHOICE instead of assuming that we know what's best for them?

Nobody is going to force kids to play in this league and college, I assume, will remain an option

Not assuming anything. They go to school and get an education then they have choices. If they go straight to a paid league and they're right back to square one when things don't work out. The NCAA is taking advantage of these kids not the schools.

You don't have to go to school straight out of high school. Plenty of people go a couple years in the army before enrolling in school, and many of them do just fine in life.

My point is that we shouldn't decide FOR anyone else...people have the right to decide for themselves what's best for them and their family.

Some people come from situations where they need money right away. Others just want the experience that will best prepare them for the NFL and they want to focus 100 percent on football.

 

[ThomasM]

I'm 100% in favor of giving kids an OPTION to college football.

Yup. Right now they are being used big time by the schools. People can spare me the free education crap. We all know that's a sham. Give them an option!

 

[Mcanes305]

The decision on whether they needan education is THEIRS and theirs alone. it shouldnt be forced on them. Its not done with anything else. we dont tell accounting students to also study for the bar because having a law degree to fall back on is better for them. They are majoring in football, if you want to be a "prestigious academai" cut all varsity sports. This league may start a trend and help clear the lines and we can start being honest with ourselves. I know personally if given the choice to watch real regular college students compete or a league of college athletes being paid, i know which game im tuning to.

 

[TreOFive]

I don't know how I feel about this. I agree current players need to get paid in some fashion, but they also NEED some sort of an education. Even if they don't finish their degree, having some accountability outside of football will better them in the long run.

Nobody NEEDS an education. An education is a means to an end. If a kid is 6'4, 230 lbs and can run a 4.4..... maybe the best career path for him is professional athletics.

This league is designed from the ground up to prepare professional athletes for a future NFL career. That's more than any university can or will offer them.

I would argue that focused NFL preparation is more valuable to the kid than a degree in Sociology. JMO

As an educator..this is by far the dumbest statement ever made on this board.

Education is correlated with a myriad of factors like crime, SES,, employability, life expectancy, health, social mobility, relationships, community engagement, political engagement etc. but hey who needs all that ****. lets have some uneducated unskilled 45 year olds who can suck more from the system than contribute to it. great plan...you seem qualified to serve on the Trump transition team.

Maybe I worded my thoughts poorly.

I see playing in the NFL as a career choice, no different from being a doctor, lawyer, or teacher. And just each of those professions require specialized training, so does a career in athletics.

This new league is designed from the bottom up to provide intensive, specialized training for kids who aspire to be professional athletes.

A degree in the humanities might be valuable in other ways, but just as is wouldn't be sufficient to prepare a young doctor for a career in medicine or a young lawyer for a career in law, the degree is insufficient to prepare an aspiring athlete to reach his potential in the NFL.

I think the general level of disrespect universities have for atheltics as a life pursuit is at the root of their problems in this instance. What universities see as a game or a pasttime is, to a privileged few, a lucritive career choice and a profound opportunity to impact the world.

Those kids, few in number as they may be, deserve and need the best training and support system to help them aspire to their dreams and reach their full potential.

I kinda feel where your coming from. But I also played ball in college and now work in academia. I have always had and witnessed supportive environments for athletes. I would not be the man I am today if I had not gone to college and played fb

 

[NY Shyne]

Hope So! **** College Football, its slavery!!!

 

[TheEye]

I like the concept, but I agree with other posters saying this has XFL written all over it.

 

[pyhooya]

So again who is paying for all this...it wont be ticket sales. Do the teams pay for housing and food cause if not 50k doesnt go very far in Cali. What happens to a player that gets hurt/cut? Are the contracts for 3/4 years or yearly? Sounds like someone has money to throw away cause this wont last or make money

 

[PSU Cane]

Mike Shanahan and someone associated with the New England Patriots are putting together a new league to compete head-to-head with the NCAA.

The league will feature kids who have been out of high school 4 years or less, will be called the Pacific Pro Football League and will originally feature 4 teams in California, with the idea to expand later to other states.

The league will PAY PLAYERS directly out of high school and will have pro-style schemes that are designed to prepare kids directly for the NFL. There will be no limits on practice time, no useless academic requirements, no NCAA rules.... just football and NFL preparation.

No more slave labor, and no more getting sanctions for selling your own autograph. Now every kid with some talent has a chance to "feed the fam." See the link below.




Pacific Pro Football League Details Announced for Non-NFL-Eligible Players | Bleacher Report

The rate of kids going to the NFL from any such league will probably be around the same from college now. Which is to say very few will be drafted proportionally to the amount of players overall. The difference between college and a league like that would be the players that don't get drafted wouldn't have a college degree and college networks to fall back on.

You might say well if they get paid 50k a year to play there then it's worth it. Well, I doubt that the minor league teams would pay for housing and food like colleges do, and that income would be taxed, so they would only be able to save a small portion of that money. And that's assuming they live economically.

They also need more than 4 teams in my opinion to make it worth watching.

We will see how it plays out, I won't dismiss it out of hand but I have my doubts.

You know you can always go back to college if the NFL thing doesn't work out. And, I would argue, you would probably be a more focused and driven student if you knew that your DEGREE was what was going to provide you with a living.

The degree is secondary for most college football athletes today. At North Carolina, they don't even do their own schoolwork and at FSU, they can't even read.

No you can't. A lot of these kids don't have the scores to warrant acceptance into most colleges they play at and only do because of what they bring to the school in athletics. And i would argue it is more difficult to finish school the longer you've been out of it. Once all those resources are gone that help athletes, it's back to a 20-something several years removed from school with little help a whole lot of frustration going back because he had to, not because he wanted to. Having kids go as part of their career progression allows them time to mature before getting thrown into the real world that many are just not ready for.

 

[TpaBayFlyFisher]

I have grown to believe that the Ivy League has it right. In all sports, if a student wants to play, try out. No scholarships no preferred admission. True student athletes. In short order, the Cane fans will root for a speedy WR who runs 4.9 blowing by a Gator DB who runs only 5.0 while 250 pound OL keep 240 DL at bay...........semi pro athletes play before fans in double and triple A baseball-like stadiums.

 

[ThomasM]

You can't play in the NFL unless you've been out of high school for 3 years. Why? You might get hurt. However, upon graduation from high school you can go fight and die for your country. I have a feeling more 18 year olds have died in battle than 18 year olds have been killed playing football.

 

[PSU Cane]

Here's why this won't work. Nobody cares about minor league sports. Minor league franchises in baseball, hockey and the NBA are financially supported by the major league franchises tied to them. Without the NFL to support it, a minor league would fold immediately. Yeah, paying players 50 grand a year sounds great but with what money? Plus coaches, officials, facilities, insurance and tons of other costs that you have to factor in. What minor league sport has any type of TV audience to get revenue from? Even if they somehow sell tickets, that money isn't nearly enough to cover operating expenses. They would have to bank on college football fans dropping their allegiances to their teams to follow random minor leaguers. Not gonna happen.

Many of the minor league baseball teams are profitable, getting hundreds of thousands of tickets sold each yesr.

In sports where you can play multiple games a week to sell those tickets at $10-15 a pop and make money on the concessions and parking. How many football games can you play in a minor league system?

 

[PSU Cane]

I don't know how I feel about this. I agree current players need to get paid in some fashion, but they also NEED some sort of an education. Even if they don't finish their degree, having some accountability outside of football will better them in the long run.

Nobody NEEDS an education. An education is a means to an end. If a kid is 6'4, 230 lbs and can run a 4.4..... maybe the best career path for him is professional athletics.

This league is designed from the ground up to prepare professional athletes for a future NFL career. That's more than any university can or will offer them.

I would argue that focused NFL preparation is more valuable to the kid than a degree in Sociology. JMO

As an educator..this is by far the dumbest statement ever made on this board.

Education is correlated with a myriad of factors like crime, SES,, employability, life expectancy, health, social mobility, relationships, community engagement, political engagement etc. but hey who needs all that ****. lets have some uneducated unskilled 45 year olds who can suck more from the system than contribute to it. great plan...you seem qualified to serve on the Trump transition team.

Maybe I worded my thoughts poorly.

I see playing in the NFL as a career choice, no different from being a doctor, lawyer, or teacher. And just each of those professions require specialized training, so does a career in athletics.

This new league is designed from the bottom up to provide intensive, specialized training for kids who aspire to be professional athletes.

A degree in the humanities might be valuable in other ways, but just as is wouldn't be sufficient to prepare a young doctor for a career in medicine or a young lawyer for a career in law, the degree is insufficient to prepare an aspiring athlete to reach his potential in the NFL.

I think the general level of disrespect universities have for atheltics as a life pursuit is at the root of their problems in this instance. What universities see as a game or a pasttime is, to a privileged few, a lucritive career choice and a profound opportunity to impact the world.

Those kids, few in number as they may be, deserve and need the best training and support system to help them aspire to their dreams and reach their full potential.

Except before going to medical or law school, an undergraduate degree is still required.

 

[PSU Cane]

The decision on whether they needan education is THEIRS and theirs alone. it shouldnt be forced on them. Its not done with anything else. we dont tell accounting students to also study for the bar because having a law degree to fall back on is better for them. They are majoring in football, if you want to be a "prestigious academai" cut all varsity sports. This league may start a trend and help clear the lines and we can start being honest with ourselves. I know personally if given the choice to watch real regular college students compete or a league of college athletes being paid, i know which game im tuning to.

Actually, colleges do. They make you take a broad range of bs courses in order to graduate in a major you only take 1-2 classes for each semester. You don't have the option to only pick classes in your major. If you did, you could probably graduate in 2 years and spend $50k-$100k less in tuition and extras. Most things in life have pre-requisites that MAY not seem fair or right but serve a purpose or have logical reasons behind it.

 

[Jaromir Jagr]

I'm 100% in favor of giving kids an OPTION to college football.

Yup. Right now they are being used big time by the schools. People can spare me the free education crap. We all know that's a sham. Give them an option!

If they are being used, why are they so excited to have their signing events every year? Those guys live like kings on college campuses.

 

[Jaromir Jagr]

Hope So! **** College Football, its slavery!!!

Dumb post. Why is it all the black guys who keep ripping college football?

 

[TheEye]

Man, imagine what recruiting would look like if players who have 4 years of elligibility just completed 4 years of professional minor league football.

 

[callmetrip]

If you give minor league baseball or basketball a "shot" and fail to succeed you don't leave with CTE. This league got no shot.