[Husker] Pelini Pre-season Press Conference

[jon johnston]

On Aug 4, 2008, at 3:26 PM, Steve Stone wrote:

> Mike Nolan wrote:
>
> (snip)
>
>> I don't know that this will solve what has been one of the biggest  
>> problems
>> facing teams, players leaving early for the NCAA.  I also read on TSN
>> that over half of the players who left school early for the NFL  
>> after the
>> 2007 season were not drafted this spring.
>
> For half a dozen years now, I've been advocating ('though not often  
> on the HuskerList) that when an undergrad player goes to the NFL,  
> the team that drafts him should also have to pay the university he  
> comes from an amount equal to the rookie's first year salary times  
> the number of years of eligibility the player had remaining at the  
> university.
>
> Example: a Baylor I-Back is drafted by the New York Jets after his  
> junior year and given total compensation of, say, two million  
> dollars. The Jets are then required to pay an additional two million  
> in compensation to Baylor. If drafted after his sophomore year, the  
> Jets would have to compensate Baylor with four million.
>
> If memory serves, some years ago the NFL was sued by an underegrad,  
> and the courts ordered the NFL to accept juniors and sophomores who  
> wanted to turn pro although the NFL didn't want to.
>
> This plan would give the NFL a perfectly valid reason to draft only  
> a handful of youngsters.
>
> Steve Stone
>


I think the biggest problem with that type of rule is that it implies  
some level of professionalism on the part of the college player, i.e.  
the player had 'value' yet was not compensated for it by the  
university. There's already an undercurrent of people who think that  
college players of revenue sports are being exploited despite that  
they're given scholarships that are worth way more than they were only  
years ago.

Jon Johnston
http://www.cornnation.com