Category: Greenwood

Age Regulation Questions

The topic of age regulations for professional leagues has been debated for years. In order to develop a feature on age regulation, it is important to discuss both the philosophical ideals behind the regulations, as well as the facts of their impact.

Many of these questions would require extensive research and talking to multiple sources, but I would look to answer these general questions in my feature.

  • When did NBA and NFL age regulations begin? Who was the driving force behind them?
  • What is the main idea behind these regulations?
  • How many athletes would be ready for professional play out of high school?
  • How does leaving early for professional leagues effect graduation rates at premier college programs?
  • Which NCAA school has the most players utilizing the “one and done” protocol?
  • How many players in the NFL and NBA have college degrees?
  • What percentage of players go back to college during or after their playing career?
  • How do top high school and collegiate athletes feel about age regulations? Do they generally want to get a college degree?
  • What are the other options for players to wait out the age regulations if they do not go to college?
  • How would eliminating age regulations effect the quality of college sports?
  • What does the typical NFL or NBA player do for a living after their career? Is a college degree usually necessary?
  • How do other sports, like baseball, handle age regulations and draft restrictions?

Surprising – Age Regulations

For anyone who pays attention to sports, this may sound like beating a dead horse. But, I have always been fascinated with the age regulations for professional leagues, namely the NFL and NBA.

For basketball, the rules for the draft stating that players must be 19 years old and have at least one season between high school and NBA play have created the notorious “one and done” phenomenon.  As a college basketball fan, this is a point of contention for me. On one hand, I root for these athletes and respect their decision to move on to professional play, but at the same time it is frustrating to see so many players leaving programs and not graduating. This story discusses the continuous back and forth on this rule.

For the NFL, college football is more of a necessity because of the three years out of high school rule. Still, many athletes choose to declare for the draft before graduation. I can vividly recall the national reaction when Johnny Manziel declared for the draft as soon as possible. And look how that turned out… I don’t know the best solution or if these regulations do their job, but it is a big sacrifice of education and athletes foregoing a college degree to pursue a professional career.