Jaylon Smith returns and earned his degree. Congrats to the young man.
Replies to: Jaylon Smith returns and earned his degree. Congrats to the young man.
I was a little surprised that so few have done so to this point, but it's nice that several more are
making their progress toward their degrees. Counting those that are working their way, about half of the early NFL entries will have come back to complete their degrees.
The Bus and Tuck Also
I should fact check it but i'm pretty sure.
Yes, you should fact check
Read the story I linked to below
Clausen did too, did he not?
(no message)
Yes
Here's a great piece by Eric Hansen on guys who've left early.
Link: Hansen
This article really proves that you should stay in school. 78% of retired NFLers out of money 15
years after being out of league 17% bankrupt. So much for you get your money now and worry about education later guys. The longer you are out of school the harder it is to go back and succeed at it. If you leave early at least go back sooner rather than later. Better yet, don't leave early. Disastrous for by far most NFL and NBA players.
Sorry, TC, it doesn't prove that at all
I agree with you that the longer one waits, the harder it becomes. But that absolutely does not mean that players should stay in school if they get a favorable evaluation. Getting to the league a year early allows for not only a year's pay that most likely would not be made up by staying in school, but one also has access to, in most cases, better coaching, better trainers, and more time to hone their craft. It also gets one to that second contract earlier, which for the successful player is much more lucrative.
There are situations that dictate returning to school for another year, but getting one's degree is not a huge factor for most. The adage that you can always get your degree later, still applies.
You make a good point about the likely hood of going back to school once a player leaves. My stance has always been that the NFL should do more to encourage players to go back and finish. Having a plan in place to complete one's degree should be emphasized by the both NCAA and the NFL.
Btw, having a college degree doesn't assure an NFL player won't be one of those bankrupt statistics.