This idea could really hurt college football

[12247]

This little idea is strictly NFL driven.  Why would you put a limit on a Kid at 4 years and gone if you were trying to build team love.  All this is, is a direct shot at the pros or you are gone in 4 years or less.  I bet the labor agreement you have with the team you play for has a clause that you pay that team if and when you go pro.  Bet it is all laid out in the contract.  What is happening here is you are taken likely after you come to 1 or more pro days and show your stuff.  When taken, you are viewed as a blocking tackle dummy until you prove otherwise.  Say you turn out very good in that first year and a few NFL teams are wanting you.  Someone may offer you a 10 mil signing bonus and 3 mil a year for 3 years or more.  Well I bet the "school" you attended gets half your bonus and a third of your first 3 years pay or something like that.

Because these Kids will not be protected by annual schollies, they likely can be fired anytime.  So if you book a real loser, you can his butt and pick up another player (employee) that very day and away you go again.  It isn't about wins/losses or attracting fans, its about attracting NFL or Canadian football teams with money to purchase these players, either directly from their employer or indirectly from the employee when he moves on up. 

I still could see some of these Kids ending up in a college somewhere to play, likely a high level of football after they bust out at NFL school

[lakecityhog]

I think that this would actually level the playing field a bit more. Yes, the "name" schools will still sign the bulk of the best kids left, but the difference in a 4* and a 3* is less than the difference in a 4* and a 5* NFL ready kid.

But, the sad fact of the matter is this, it STILL comes down to coaching. Look at Alabama in the Shula days, LSU in the Dinardo days and Michigan between Carr and Harbaugh. Those teams all recruited very well, but the HC wasn't very good.

[jvanhorn]

Been thinking about a similar idea for years.  May not be a great financial operation but would attract many, many good to great players who have zero inclination to go to college.  There are hundreds of possible football players who could be taught the game without the schooling, especially the non-glorious positions.

I see this as a way to earn reasonable money while learning the game of football. If you haven't made it in 4 years you leave or you are let go.  Someday, the NCAA will quit bullshitting the Country about this use of amateur labor to collect professional money for the schools.  I could see a player earning a living at the NFL prep league until let go there and then being recruited into college to play 4 years.  You watch this happen and it should.

THIS!!  College footaball is a cash cow for universities and is nothing more to the NFL than the minor leagues are to MLB.  If you think this has anything to with amateur athletics in any shape, fashion or form.  I have some nice Indian Reservation over in Oklahoma that I can make you a real deal on.

[jvanhorn]

this league will be made up in large part by a bunch of excellent players whose grades won't get them into a college . and kids who might could get in but don't want to waste 2 years of their lives taking b.s courses like art, music appreciation etc

Art and music appreciation are not bull courses.  They may not be what you need to find a job, but they are very much a part of a liberal education to help you enjoy and appreciated something besides money and ass kissing at work.

[elksnort]

$$ eventually ruins everything

[Dumb ole famrboy]

In the end the success of this league will be determined by the number of players it transitions to the NFL. I don't see how it can compete with the investment in training facilities and coaching provided by college athletics. Plus the NCAA can always resort to increased stipends to counter significant adverse effects.

[Inhogswetrust]

the article says the players will have workmans comp, and the players or their agents would be bale to buy insurance against career ending injury.

Like college players can do already. Also a college player can still get their college paid for if they have a career ending injury.

[Boss Hog in the Arkansas]

If anything this will level the playing field. Schools like bama wont have all 5* starting line ups anymore

[hogsanity]

Art and music appreciation are not bull courses.  They may not be what you need to find a job, but they are very much a part of a liberal education to help you enjoy and appreciated something besides money and ass kissing at work.

should be electives, not mandates. Only mandated courses should be those i directly related to your degree, but then colleges could not suck out 4 or 5 years or tuition from a student any longer.

THIS!!  College footaball is a cash cow for universities and is nothing more to the NFL than the minor leagues are to MLB.  If you think this has anything to with amateur athletics in any shape, fashion or form.  I have some nice Indian Reservation over in Oklahoma that I can make you a real deal on.

The thing is though, in the mlb minor leagues, teams can go watch their players play 100 games a year, and can do different things with them. In football, the pro teams draft a player and then have to see if he can make the main roster. This is what nfl teams are trying to get to with this new set up they are going to try. While individual nfl teams will not have direct control, they can all agree on what they want to see from the OL players or the db's or the wr's, etc.