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.