College Football

Alabama Football: New Pacific Pro League Will Hurt College Recruiting

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 5:14 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Bobby Wesson/FanSided via Bama Hammer

The Pacific Pro League aims to compete with Alabama Football and others for recruits by offering athletes $50,000 and an alternative path to the NFL.

Will the Pacific Pro League hurt recruiting for Alabama Football? Yes. Will it benefit athletes? Yes. If you haven’t heard about this league yet let me give you the run down. Unlike basketball, baseball and other sports the only real way to get on the roster of an  NFL team is by doing your three years in college and going out for the draft. The Pacific Pro League aims to provide an alternative path to the NFL.

The Pacific Pro league will be targeting 18-22 year olds and offering them somewhere in the range of $50,000 a year to play football. That may not sound like much compared to an NFL salary but the goal is to provide an alternative way to get to the NFL and make those big bucks.

Do you think this sounds like the XFL or any of the other failed attempts to compete with the NFL? It’s not. The Pacific Pro League isn’t competing with the NFL. It’s competing with colleges to feed the NFL. That’s the difference.

Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

“How long will it be until one of these players announces that they are signing with a Pacific Pro team at the Under Armour All American game?”

If you still think this league sounds like a joke think about this.

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There are hundreds of kids recruited by major universities every year who end up going to junior college because their grades aren’t good enough to get in. What if there was another option to get to the NFL? How many first round picks have no interest in a degree or leave for the big leagues before completing one? How enticing is cash in hand to a kid with bills to pay?

How many restrictions are placed on college athletes for practice and play time? What if all those late nights with their nose in a book were spent learning new plays and practicing fundamentals that NFL scouts look for instead?

Leigh Steinberg in a report for Forbes said it best, “Nowhere in the U.S. Constitution does it dictate that a study of Trigonometry or Art Appreciation is a prerequisite for cutting off tackle for three yards.” Which NFL teams care about a receiver’s ability to calculate ball flight on a blackboard?

None. Catch it. That’s what they care about.

The value of a college degree can’t and shouldn’t be understated. Many of us are still paying for the sheepskins on our walls – but you don’t need one to play ball.  The Pacific Pro League knows it and soon recruits will too.

When will this Impact Alabama Football?

This league will start-up with 4 franchises in southern California and expand quickly. It will put pressure on universities to compensate players with more than just an education and a meal ticket. It will have an impact on college football recruiting.

Colleges will now have competition in the NFL pipeline. Competition makes everyone better. Elite athletes know that. Competition benefits the consumer by fueling innovation. College graduates know that. Many school administrators are both. The only question left is – what will they do when their cash cows can make cash without them?

Do you think the Pacific Pro League will hurt Alabama Football recruiting? Do you think it will ultimately benefit athletes? Let us know on Facebook or in the comments.

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