XFL will consider taking players before eligible for the NFL Draft

Very interesting debate will come from this if it happens.
Should the NFL change it's policy?
If the NBA lowers the age to 18 that leaves only the NFL among major sports with college restrictions.

Oliver Luck: XFL will consider taking players before eligible for the NFL Draft

I don't know any professional sport in the world besides the NFL that requires 2-3 years of college education. Some sports players peak by early-mid 20s and then decline (athletics, swimming etc). I bet Running Backs peak by early-mid 20s too which is a shame. The reason RBs look more dynamic in college football is because they are closer to peak performance. Same with rookie RBs and those in first few years. It's a shame that by the time RBs are eligible for their first contract post draft they are already 27 years old if they had a full 4 year college education and were picked up for a 5th year tender. At that age they are already toast.

There is no reason for NFL to wait to induct players till they are 21 or 22 years old. Other full-contact sports, like Rugby, don't need to have these restrictions. Young rugby can debut below age 20 and recently some 18 year old joined England's team.

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Wheelman said:

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Ricky Williams? I'm down.

Biffins said:

I don't know any professional sport in the world besides the NFL that requires 2-3 years of college education. Some sports players peak by early-mid 20s and then decline (athletics, swimming etc). I bet Running Backs peak by early-mid 20s too which is a shame. The reason RBs look more dynamic in college football is because they are closer to peak performance. Same with rookie RBs and those in first few years. It's a shame that by the time RBs are eligible for their first contract post draft they are already 27 years old if they had a full 4 year college education and were picked up for a 5th year tender. At that age they are already toast.

There is no reason for NFL to wait to induct players till they are 21 or 22 years old. Other full-contact sports, like Rugby, don't need to have these restrictions. Young rugby can debut below age 20 and recently some 18 year old joined England's team.

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For one thing, I doubt anyone under age 20 is mature enough for the NFL game, mentally or physically. Also, NFL rules regarding college players' draft eligibility are a courtesy to the NCAA aimed at preserving the college sport.

Biffins said:

I don't know any professional sport in the world besides the NFL that requires 2-3 years of college education. Some sports players peak by early-mid 20s and then decline (athletics, swimming etc). I bet Running Backs peak by early-mid 20s too which is a shame. The reason RBs look more dynamic in college football is because they are closer to peak performance. Same with rookie RBs and those in first few years. It's a shame that by the time RBs are eligible for their first contract post draft they are already 27 years old if they had a full 4 year college education and were picked up for a 5th year tender. At that age they are already toast.

There is no reason for NFL to wait to induct players till they are 21 or 22 years old. Other full-contact sports, like Rugby, don't need to have these restrictions. Young rugby can debut below age 20 and recently some 18 year old joined England's team.

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But we already see, year after year, a number of underclassmen declare for the draft, then go undrafted. It certainly doesn't mean their career ends there, but for some it ends up being a bad decision, either for not finishing their degree or not boosting their draft stock by a strong senior year, or both.

For every 18 year old that could come into the NFL and have an instant impact, there would be dozens more that make terrible decisions by bypassing a paid college education.

Tunescribe said:

For one thing, I doubt anyone under age 20 is mature enough for the NFL game, mentally or physically. Also, NFL rules regarding college players' draft eligibility are a courtesy to the NCAA aimed at preserving the college sport.

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I see that argument ... yet NCAA basketball has survived very well.
I think the mature enough to survive argument is a better angle.

As for the NCAA ... well that financially corrupt org. is always a great discussion.

Biffins said:

There is no reason for NFL to wait to induct players till they are 21 or 22 years old.

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I suspect it was because the league, altruistically or for appearance's sake didn't want to be seen as encouraging young men to skip college for the dream of playing in the NFL.

But that was back in the day when a college education was useful and didn't hamstring you with 20 years worth of debt.

Wheelman said:

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I'll be shocked if this league ever plays a single game.

IcyPatriot said:

Very interesting debate will come from this if it happens.
Should the NFL change it's policy?
If the NBA lowers the age to 18 that leaves only the NFL among major sports with college restrictions.

Oliver Luck: XFL will consider taking players before eligible for the NFL Draft

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Apologies as I really don't watch basketball but don't they already draft players at 18? (I'm thinking Kobe Bryant)

ToonPatriot said:

Apologies as I really don't watch basketball but don't they already draft players at 18? (I'm thinking Kobe Bryant)

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They did for awhile then put in a one year rule.

signbabybrady said:

They did for awhile then put in a one year rule.

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And yesterday they officially proposed lowering it to 18 again, to take effect in 2022 if the uniom signs off. It had been brewing for a while but I suspect Zion's shoe played a role in the timing. The rule has turned out to be excessively stupid, and there's really no justification now that a minor league exists to develop players (who are paid as professionals).

Oliver Luck? No thanks.

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IcyPatriot said:

Very interesting debate will come from this if it happens.
Should the NFL change it's policy?
If the NBA lowers the age to 18 that leaves only the NFL among major sports with college restrictions.

Oliver Luck: XFL will consider taking players before eligible for the NFL Draft

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I don't actually know the statistics, but for most the "football dream" is about getting college education.

The AAF already seems to be scraping the bottom of the barrel. Like, Christian Hackenberg? Seriously? And now the XFL is going to add another what... 8 teams? Who's going to start for those teams?

Wheelman said:

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Nothing says fun and excitement more than "economic justice"!

The tricky part is that football just isn't like those other sports. A 1st-year-out-of-HS superstar basketball player like Zion Williamson could play in the NBA tomorrow and be a legit starter (assuming he wasn't wearing the Nike exploding shoes that is). Furthermore, those other sports just don't have the same injury risk in situations where a player does join before he is ready.

I don't believe there are any corresponding NCAA freshman who could just join the NFL right now and excel. Yes I know everyone is high on Trevor Lawrence but the idea that he is NFL ready right now (let alone 4 months ago) is ridiculous. Spending another couple years in the minor leagues - uh I mean playing college football - is in his own best interest.

The problem is the incredibly corrupt system which is the NCAA. Sometimes I think the best solution would be to make the Power-5 Conferences officially an NFL minor league system where an NFL team could draft a player, sign him, pay him, and have him go to college to play. Unfortunately the NCAA has to maintain the pretense that these star athletes actually are there to learn.

fnordcircle said:

I suspect it was because the league, altruistically or for appearance's sake didn't want to be seen as encouraging young men to skip college for the dream of playing in the NFL.

But that was back in the day when a college education was useful and didn't hamstring you with 20 years worth of debt.

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$30,000 (which is the average debt for graduating seniors) is "20 years worth of debt"? Guess no college grads are ever buying a car, then.

XLIX said:

The problem is the incredibly corrupt system which is the NCAA. Sometimes I think the best solution would be to make the Power-5 Conferences officially an NFL minor league system where an NFL team could draft a player, sign him, pay him, and have him go to college to play. Unfortunately the NCAA has to maintain the pretense that these star athletes actually are there to learn.

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I like the proposal I saw somewhere where (at least in Div 1, at least for the big sports) the whole concept of a "student-athlete" would be eliminated. The players would have to meet the school's admission standards but would be non-student paid employees of the school who could play at most 4 years for the school. They would also be given a to-be-used-later 1-year scholarship for each year they were on the team. They could use that scholarship anytime after they left the team for good.

Tunescribe said:

For one thing, I doubt anyone under age 20 is mature enough for the NFL game, mentally or physically. Also, NFL rules regarding college players' draft eligibility are a courtesy to the NCAA aimed at preserving the college sport.

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As I mentioned, lots of full-contact sports, like rugby, allow younger players to play at the highest level. So players are ready physically. As for mentally, come on, that has to be the obvious less demanding task, clearly. There are Chess GMs at 13 and by 17-18 they are competing for world championships.