NFL Developmental League

There are a lot of problems these days with college players violating NCAA rules. I have a solution to this problem, and it's not more rules and regulation by the NCAA. It's for the NFL to step up and create a developmental league.

First off, the NCAA has too many rules and they are an anti-democracy gestapo that should be done away with, but that is another issue. 95% of all scholarship college football players will never play in the NFL or even get to an NFL training camp. So that 95% is happy with the free education they receive, but the other 5% that make it to the NFL are not in college for the education, they are there to prepare for the NFL. For about 80% of that elite 5% group college serves its purpose just like it does for a regular business major looking to get a job in corporate America. But for that top 1%, the ones that go pro after their junior year, those guys know they are the best...they always have been, and they are only in college because the NFL won't let them go pro until they are 3 years removed from high school.

That top 1% of college football players are the ones going to agent parties and receiving benefits from boosters. They are the ones that don't really care that much about the rules because they want something for their talent, for the use of their abilities by the school on the football field. They are not loyal to any school, they are just waiting until they can enter the draft and make millions. So what can be done to fix this problem? Well, in my post, "The NCAA, Agents, and College Football" on July 23rd I gave my solution for allowing players to sign with agents while they are still in college. But I know that will never happen so now I am offering a solution that could actually happen...an NFL Developmental League.

The NBA has a Developmental League, one that no one watches. Well, no one would watch this one either. The concept is simple, 16 teams - unaffiliated with any NFL teams but funded by the NFL, have a draft around January 15th of each year (just before national college signing day) to draft 3 rounds of high school seniors. So 16 teams x 3 rounds = 48 players. To be a 5-star player you have to be in the top 50 in the country, so there you go...5-star players will get drafted. These players will be required to play in the NFDL for 3 years before they can be drafted just like they do in college, the only difference is they get paid $50,000 per year instead of having to go to college. To fill out the rosters the NFDL teams use the 27 players that got cut in training camp plus about 12-15 other players who would like to someday play in the NFL.

So what your left with is college players that don't have certain NFL careers. You have college players that will probably all need to stay all 4 years before they are ready to be drafted. Sure, you'll still have some players who can leave after their junior years, but those are the ones that made strides in college and weren't banking on 1st round money so they disregarded the rulebook in college.

I'd like for the NBA to do a similar type of thing with basketball players. What they should do is have NBDL teams connected with NBA teams like the minor leagues in baseball. Then, in their regular draft, they can pick players directly from high school and if they're ready, bring them up to the NBA or send them to the NBDL for a couple years. And if you're not drafted into the NBA then you have to stay in college for 3 years...so I'm basically saying they should make the model like baseball has it; but of course if you're drafted in basketball you're not going to want to go to college.

I think developmental leagues would solve most of the issues colleges have with athletes interacting with agents and accepting money and other items from boosters. College coaches have enough to worry about and they aren't baby sitters, give them half a chance with players that want to be in college because they know that is where they belong.

JB