To quote the movie “Boiler Room,” “There’s no honor in taking that after-school job at Mickey Dee’s, honor’s in the dollar, kid.” When it comes to professional athletes, there is no honor in a college degree. The honor, as the quote suggests, is all in the money. When multimillion dollar contracts, endorsements, publicity and fame are to gain, it is hard to blame collegiate athletes for leaving school early.
As the NCAA Tournament and college basketball season came to a close, attention shifted to which players would pursue a professional career. The number of underclassmen who are ditching their universities in pursuit of the NBA has increased significantly over recent years, a list which includes such high profile names as Love, Westbrook, Rose, Beasley and Mayo. It is nearly impossible to fault them when riches and fame are at stake, but the decision is not made without consequences.
What would happen if the athlete got hurt and could no longer play? What if all of the publicity and fame was too much to handle? The unforeseen possibilities are plenty. However, the phenomenon of college athletes choosing the unknown and turning pro at the expense of their education is becoming more and more inevitable.
So an important question becomes, what can colleges do — namely the NCAA — to try to get college athletes to postpone such a decision, even if it’s just another year to contemplate their future before turning pro?
The obvious deciding factor for these young athletes is the money. No one in their right economic mind would turn away the potential coin that college athletes receive from contracts, endorsements and bonuses when they go pro. The decision becomes critical and time sensitive due to the restrictions in place by the NCAA prohibiting college athletes from reaping the financial benefits of their success while still in school.
Athletes, under NCAA rules, are prohibited from receiving financial gifts, endorsement contracts, or benefiting from any commercial sponsorship that results in remuneration on behalf of the student.
Such rules are strictly enforced, as University of Colorado football player Jeremy Bloom learned when he lost his eligibility to play football after endorsing skiing products.
University of Oklahoma baseball player Aaron Adair was shocked at the NCAA’s decision to deem him ineligible because he profited from a published book he wrote documenting his fight against brain cancer.
With all this assiduous effort by the NCAA to prevent student athletes from reaping the financial benefits of their image, the decision to turn pro is made that much easier. The NCAA and its member schools make millions of dollars each year on advertising, broadcasting and trademarking that result from their teams. It is extremely hypocritical that students are completely prohibited from maximizing their individual marketing worth.
There are definite benefits that come from staying in college, aside from the degree earned. Students would become more mature and make better decisions about their futures if they were not subject to the extreme financial restraints and pressures put on them as a result of the current NCAA rules. The NCAA should adjust its rules to allow students to receive financial contracts for marketing, sponsorship, endorsements, etc. College athletics, as well as the individual lives of many athletes, would benefit as a result.