The Age Old Question

[Big Sexy]

This is an old debate that has been brought back into the mainstream within the last few days. The topic is age restrictions in terms of entering the NFL and NBA. In football you have to be out of high school 3 years before you can enter the NFL. In basketball you have to be out for one year before entering the NBA.

The reason this topic has been brought back up is because of stories in both sports. In college football the story is 20 year old Jadaveon Clowney. Clowney would have been a top 5 pick after his true freshmen season and would have been almost a guarantee lock as the first overall selection if he could enter the draft this year. Instead he has to wait another year and some are suggesting he should sit the season out to lessen the risk of injury.

In college basketball the story is Nerlens Noel. Noel is a true freshmen who would have likely been the first overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft. Two nights ago he tore his ACL and while he is still basically a lock for the top 10, his hopes of going number one are likely gone.

Now I can understand the reason for the rules because players coming out of high school in the NBA were often making the wrong decision. Many were falling to the second round and out of the league within a year or so because they weren't ready and were overwhelmed. When it comes to the NFL, let's face it, 95% of the players coming out of high school need AT LEAST one year before they are even physically ready for the pros. However, it isn't the job of pro sports to baby these young players. At 18 you can join the military, go to federal prison, and if you aren't going to college (or even if you are) you are expected to get a full time job to support yourself. If players who aren't ready want to make a huge mistake and go to the pros early then that is on them. There is no reason to penalize the ones who are ready.

So what are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree with the age restrictions in college football? College basketball? Should they be completely eliminated? Reduced?

 

[GI Cake]

Personally, it kills me to see so many of these professional athletes get scholarships to big name colleges that personal friends of mine would have killed to get into only to play ball and get out as soon as possible. Do I blame them for taking the easy route and opting to the draft to get those lofty contracts instead of continuing their education?

Despite that, in the NFL the average career length for NFL players is 2-3 years. This includes high draft picks to those undrafted players that fill in the practice squad. It is a dumb move to not want to continue your education when it is either completely free or the school is paying for a healthy sum of it.

When it comes to the regulating draft ages, a perfect world would be having all players enter the draft with a Bachelors degree under their belts. Obviously that is not going to happen anytime soon. The current set rules for the NBA and the NFL are good, but far from perfect. The NCAA and the professional sport leagues need to work together to make sure athletes have either a complete college education or a full understanding on the risks that come with not finishing your education before the draft.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I think the rules in place for the NFL are good rules. The speed at which the game moves is so much faster in the pros, and typically those extra three years in college help players. Plus at the age of 18-19 when most graduating high school they are still growing.

The NBA I'm more conflicted on. One year doesn't make much difference. The number of players who think they could go pro out of high school is high, but it doesn't drop off greatly after a single year. Even though society says an 18 year old is an adult, most people aren't mature at that point and they haven't had a lot of life experiences. The number of success stories is relatively small. Only two guys, Moses Malone and Connie Hawkins, are in the HOF and went from prep school to the pros. You currently have KG, Kobe, LeBron who are going to be in the hall one day. There are some other guys like Tracy McGrady, Rashard Lewis, Jermaine O'Neal who have had some great seasons, and a couple guys like Dwight Howard and Amar'e Stoudamire who are having good careers. Those are really the only success stories. Remember Kwame Brown? Sebastian Telfair? Fifty five guys(seems like it is way higher) have been drafted into the NBA without college experience. Even if you add 3 future HoFers in KG, Kobe, and LeBron the rate of players who make the hall is only 9%. Only 21% ever make All-Star teams. It is pretty low.

Even with the one year waiting period there are still 10-15 guys each year who declare who go undrafted. They can't get another scholarship once they declare either. That said I hate the number of one and done players. Look at UK last year. Their starting five and their sixth man all declared for the draft, five of those six where freshman or sophomores. The one senior was the last of the six drafted. Plus I think it takes away from the college game.

If the NFL and NBA had minor leagues like The NHL and MLB do I would be more likely to support repealing the rules, but as of right now I have no problem.

 

[Papa Pillman]

I think the rules in place for the NFL are good rules. The speed at which the game moves is so much faster in the pros, and typically those extra three years in college help players. Plus at the age of 18-19 when most graduating high school they are still growing.

I agree with Yaz here. The NFL is far too violent a game to encourage owners and GMs to start realistically considering teenagers with their draft picks. Clowney is an extreme example. There is maybe one fresh from high school kid every handful of years who is physically capable of having a realistic shot at surviving an NFL season. The players on the opposite side are too big, too strong, and have too much to play for. Maybe a less physical position like WR or CB may have a shot too compete as package players based off god-given speed and athleticism but that's still not a Pandora's Box that is worth threatening to open.

As for the NBA, things are a little different. Dozens of players have already proven that they can walk onto an NBA roster at the age of 18 and perform at the level of many NBA starters. And the top of the heap are becoming more advanced physically every year. Just look at a high school all-star game, you will marvel at the condition and muscle mass of many of these teenagers.

Noel is a very good example. He would've been a top-5 pick last year had he been eligible out of high school, possibly even second overall. He has the body and the advanced defensive instincts to accompany his athleticism that would have allowed him to be a contributor to an NBA rotation this season, even despite his very raw offensive skillset. He compares much more favorably to guys like KG coming out or to a guy like Shawn Kemp who played only one year of low level JuCo ball before being drafted as a teenager then he does to a guy like Kwame Brown for example who was physically blessed but didn't possess a skillset that he could translate against the world's best "grown men".

The NBA should take a page from MLB's book. I would suggest that any player who declared for the draft out of high school should be eligible to be drafted; however, if you choose NCAA basketball instead then you are required to make a minimal two year commitment before you can be free to explore your NBA draft options(I know baseball uses a three year window like football, but three seems like overkill for basketball players as the transition isn't as extreme as the one to MLB and NFL).

Another option for the NBA that would also increase the viability of its developmental league could be that franchises have the ability to option a player to the D-league for a year at a flat salary rate then bring them up to their main roster the next season at which point they would recieve the normal rookie contract that would be owed to them. Teams would still get full value out the player, and he would still be assured his gaurunteed money, but it would help Stern's issues of not having unready teenagers filling limited main roster spots that could have gone to veterans. It may be a setback for a team that doesn't get the player it needed to help that season, but we see NBA teams take these same types of chances on drafting contracted Euro players every year without knowing when that player will be freed to begin his U.S. career.