Sport Media-Industrial Complex (NFL)

     The draft process in professional sport, particularly the NFL draft, has always intrigued me. The entire process is a spectacle in itself on how potential athletes are scouted, the different skills tests involved (especially the 40 yard dash times), and eventually the draft day (watch the video and you'll see what I mean). For some the NFL draft may be viewed as just a selection process and it provides fans a reason to forget about last season and to look forward at another  exciting new season of football ahead. As teams begin to restructure and rebuild, NFL draft experts like Todd McShay and Mel Kiper of ESPN begin to identify team needs, and thus the strategy of the draft (trades for picks or trades to move up) is really interesting.

     In order to be drafted, athletes had to be out of high school for at least three years, which generally had them playing college football in the meantime for those three seasons. Actually graduating college before entering the draft was optional. Before doing any research, that was the extent of my NFL draft eligibility knowledge. I never recognized the significance of this rule and viewed it as waste of time. If the athlete is physically capable of competing against top athletes (who are most likely older) and can make a significant impact on the game, a three-year gap should not make a difference.  

     One social injustice coming out of the NFL draft age restrictions is the continued exploitation of athletes through college football.  What college football provides for the NFL is essentially it’s farm system to pick out athletes without any extra costs to the NFL, even though it generates over a $9 billion a year (Keown, 2013). Since the draft rule mandates that athletes looking to enter must wait for three seasons, it allows both the NFL and NCAA to control players with disregard to their professional and personal well being (Keown, 2013). The idea behind the age restriction is so that athletes have time to fully develop and prevent injuries before entering into the league (Haven, 2013). Many college athletes however continue risking career ending injuries every season without making any money professionally. It allows the NFL to scout a player for three years, against reliable competition compared to high school talent, before making an investment (Dickey, 2013). By keeping players longer at their institution, colleges continue to remain relevant in maintaining the prestige of their football program through increased alumni interest and success of the team (Dickey, 2013). The NFL and the NCAA greatly benefit from this arrangement.

     The NCAA promotes that athletes continue amateur sport and scholarship over athletic endeavor through embodiment of the ‘student-athlete’ (Branch, 2011). This means that any collegiate athlete is prohibited from receiving any kinds of monetary benefits (Keown, 2013; Branch, 2011). Athletes that do however are punished and are deemed as selfish and inconsiderate for being granted an athletic scholarship. The NCAA is not about promoting amateur sport, however it focuses on the idea of commercialism (Branch, 2011). Making money is the end game for universities and the NCAA, and adding into the figurations are the corporate sponsors who continues to pump money into Bowl Championship Series (BCS) games, such as the Rose Bowl or Orange Bowl. Keeping star football athletes at an institution for three years allows that team to continue winning, therefore making it to the bigger football games, where the greater payouts for the universities are. Yet college athletes, who are the ones subjecting themselves to potential injury, are short changed in this deal and cannot seek out the money they deserve because of an agreement between the NFL and the NCAA.

     It is clear that the NFL, corporate sponsors, NCAA, and universities are benefitting from the NFL’s draft rules by continuing commercialism at college players’ expense. Although college football players looking to make it into the draft do not benefit from the rule, another group in mind that gets left out are the ones who miss out on the opportunity to attend college because ‘student-athletes’ need to be accommodated first. By keeping the three year minimum requirement for college football athletes entering the draft, it prevents a potential student from seeking higher education from the university that athlete attends. If a player decides to enter the draft and not graduate college, it leaves out the potential for other students to fully commit to higher education and eventually graduating. The idea of a three-year wait essentially wastes the athlete’s time and takes away the chance for a student who wants a college education.  

     The NFL knows what it is doing by keeping a three-year eligibility rule in place. It will continue to utilize college football as it’s farm to develop potential stars at an amateur level in order to provide a constant flow of recognizable talent into the game. To combat the three-year eligibility rule is to implement a system that requires a minimum amount of plays or snaps a player actually engages in. This number would have to be further researched in order to determine how many is enough and can help determine if an athlete is ready for the professional league.

Branch, T. (2011). The shame of college sports. The Atlantic. http://www.theathlantic.com/magazine/print/2011/10/the-shame-of-college-sports/8643/.

Dickey, J. (2013). Johnny Manziel could change the NFL’s rules forever. Time Sports. Retrieved February 22, 2014 from http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/08/09/could-johnny-manziel-change-the-nfls-rules-forever/.

Draftsite LLC. NFL draft Rules. (May 14th 2014)  Retrieved from:http://www.draftsite.com/nfl/rules/.

Haven, C. (2013). Why the NFL age minimum is likely here to stay. The Jeffrey S. Moorad. Retrieved February 22, 2014 from http://lawweb2009.law.villanova.edu/sportslaw/?p=1765.

Keown, T. (2013). Injustice of NFL draft restriction. ESPN. Retrieved February 21, 2014 from http://espn.go.com/nfl/draft2013/story/_/id/8943142/draft-restriction-makes-sense-colleges-nfl-not-players.

Oliva, S. (2013). Abolish the NFL draft. Reason. Retrieved February 21, 2014 from http://reason.com/archives/2013/04/23/abolish-the-nfl-draft.