The thought of an 18-year-old competing in the National Football League against a 30-year-old man with eight years of professional experience and four years of college experience makes me feel a little uneasy.
This especially true because I will be watching these boys, fresh out of high school, get slaughtered on Monday Night Football.
Maurice Clarett, a 20 year-old former Ohio Sate University running back recently challenged the NFL and its eligibility rule in court.
The U.S. District Court ruled on Feb. 11, for this year at least, that the NFL draft, which is to be held April 24 and 25, is open to all players, regardless of age.
The NFL has appealed this ruling but was denied. Previous to this ruling, the regulations were much more realistic for the physical sport of football.
The rule said a player had to be three years out of high school to even be considered for entering the draft. The judge ruled that the regulations violated the antitrust law.
This new ruling will follow more closely with other professional sports, such as basketball. The difference is, football is not like other sports. It is the most physically demanding sport that exists.
Four 20-year-old offensive stars plan on entering the draft this spring for sure. These boys are not fully aware that the NFL is not a game, it is a job!
Football will not be fun for these boys anymore. It will be about strenuous workouts, constant pounding on the body and most importantly, a level of maturity for which they are not ready.
It’s not college anymore, it’s professional football.
Mathematically, the ruling does not sound severe, but these extra two or three years make a huge difference.
Those are the years for these athletes to make mistakes on and off the field, without being in the spotlight 24/7.
They will have thousands of dollars at their disposal and not know how to use it. Mistakes they make at this higher level will be less easily forgiven.
Players will not be physically or mentally prepared for this league, especially if they have not played college ball.
Slowly but surely a lot of excellent Division I football programs are going to lose their star talent or will never get to experience some talent because the high school bunch will skip college and go straight to the NFL.
Sophomore USC wide receiver Mike Williams is one of the players that has decided to enter the draft. His team won the NCAA National Championship last year under his lead.
Is that, along with the possibility of winning the Heisman Trophy not enough incentive for him to stay at USC for another season?
College football will not be the same next year if a person does not get to see Pittsburgh’s Larry Fitzgerald catch a touchdown pass on Saturday. It is fun to see a college player that is better than his opponents. It is true entertainment, because they are not being paid millions to make great plays.
Williams was a superstar at that level. Now with any luck he will become an average member of the NFL.
This ruling changes college football and professional football in a negative way all because of a 19-year-old and his brilliant idea of taking the NFL to court.
Amanda Egan, a senior journalism major, is news editor of the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at aegan@ulv.edu.
