Get ready for insanity because the NFL may be turning into the what the NBA has become: a league filled with players who aren’t ready to play with the big boys.
Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett, who lied to investigators about facts in a case concerning his stolen car, was suspended for the year and is now suing the NFL regarding its draft eligibility rules in hopes of qualifying for the 2004 draft next April.
Current rules stipulate that you have to wait three years after high school in order to be eligible.
The rule is in place because the league does not think players are physically capable of playing in the league right out of high school.
Clarett will most probably win the lawsuit and be able to enter the draft, which may open the door for countless others to follow his lead.
The case may set a landmark for more and more people to test the courts in order to get into the league.
The NFL is the only major league that does not allow a player to play in the pros the moment they graduate from high school.
I am all about opportunity-and denying someone to play just because of his age or how many years he must wait after high school does create problems inside my head.
I understand that anybody should be able to make any amount of cash he can get, especially if he is ready for it.
But I am a fan, too, and I want to see the best quality of football played in the NFL along with the college game.
Hell, I thought I could drive at age 13, but the state didn’t believe anyone under the age of 16 was ready. So I just bided my time and got my license, and it’s only been suspended once. (Though it may happen again. Maybe the state was right.)
Having to wait three years isn’t going to hurt the majority of the players is college sports, but the lure of having the ability now to challenge and make that money, will make more and more players want to test the waters.
I bet most of the players who believe they can play right now, and are not eligible, are probably being compensated for their efforts as we speak. Wait…did I say that out loud?
Watering down leagues really sucks the life out of me and many fans around the nation.
Look at college basketball and the amount of talent that is really never showcased because players either leave after their freshman years, or players that don’t even go through the college process.
Although, even if players are allowed to leave college as early as possible to enter the NFL draft in the near future, I doubt that it will get as bad as the NBA is, simply because of the nature of the game.
The physical expectations are much more demanding, and football is much more of a team game, which shouldn’t hurt the attitude of the game, as it has done to basketball.
The reason other sports are able to handle players that come right out of high school, besides the NBA, is because they have minor league systems, which are built to develop the players.
But there are problems with that system. Look what has happened to college athletics in those particular sports.
How many people really care about the College World Series, especially when they know that the best players aren’t even playing in college?
The door to the pros may be opened just a crack if and when Clarett wins the lawsuit, but then there might be a horde of players blowing the door wide open.
In the case that it does happen, where many players do enter the NFL draft, what will happen to the league itself?
Many players will be left in the dust, especially those players who are not physically developed enough.
Do you think Clarett is going to dominate in the NFL?
No-whoever drafts him will be drafting for the future. He is not physically ready to take the punishment that the NFL is going to give him.
Last season, he didn’t play in two games because of injuries. If he is not strong enough, Clarett is bound to get hurt on the field.
If even lesser players than Clarett try to head to the pros, they’re going to get themselves killed out there.
For the players, it’s a great development process to sit for a year, but that takes away from the college game.
In the long term, it may hurt the game because the players that should be just spending time developing will have be forced start. Case in point: the NBA.
Just thinking about the college game being diluted a little bit makes my eyes water.
I hope Clarett loses. Screw opportunity.
Keep the limit, save the players’ bodies-and save my Saturdays.