National Football League

NFL Quietly Eroding NCAA With New Policy

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The NFL and AFCA’s New Underclassmen Scouting Guidelines Spit on College Football’s Amateurism Restraints

At the behest of Nick Saban and Urban Meyer, the NFL and American Football Coaches Association came to an understanding. They have agreed on new guidelines for how NFL teams scout underclassmen.

But what does this mean?

College football coaches are frustrated because, after three years on campus, their players are able to play in the NFL. Many talented players ‘redshirt,’ meaning they don’t play in games for one full season. This gives college coaches only two seasons to benefit from them.

And, once players declare for the NFL Draft, he cannot rescind his decision and seek to regain his NCAA eligibility. At the root of this NCAA eligibility is “amateurism.” According to the NCAA, the purity of their sports can only be assured if the athletes maintain this “amateurism.”

This means that the athlete cannot enter into any agreements with agents or professional teams or accept endorsement money/gifts. The coaches don’t like how this amateurism provision forces underclassmen to prematurely declare for the draft in search of NFL employment.

The new guidelines for underclassmen allow NFL personnel and scouts to have contact with players while maintaining their eligibility as amateurs. Five players can be designated by their respective collegiate head coach as underclassmen with NFL prospects.

Pro scouts can then evaluate these players and advise them on declaring or not to declaring for the NFL draft.

This is problematic for multiple reasons.

First, if the NCAA coaches wish to retain their talent, why are they allowing them any contact with NFL scouts?

I fail to see how it is beneficial to schools when this new policy guides college coaches to create a list of five to the NFL. Then they give them contact with those prospects. The new rules create a pipeline from NFL front offices to “amateurs.”

Jan 1, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer celebrates with offensive lineman Taylor Decker (68), running back Ezekiel Elliott (15) and offensive lineman Pat Elflein (65) after beating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 44-28 in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

I believe if a scout talks to a freshman, the likelihood of his declaring for the NFL Draft early increases. I may be mistaken, but the  interest of the NFL would hasten my departure from school.

The addition of these new regulations makes the “amateur” definition feel obsolete. How long can the NCAA continue to feed off of the guise that their product isn’t a professional one?

At the very least, this policy suggests otherwise. Next, this is problematic because it allows players to be in contact with NFL teams without agents. The logical argument against this is that most players are smart enough to communicate with NFL teams.

And if they aren’t smart enough, their collegiate teams are. This is serious because the NFL Players Association represents and protects it’s players with the collective bargaining agreement. The CBA is crucial for professional football players as it outlines the working conditions of their labor.

It restrains how long players practice, the health guidelines each team must uphold, and the institutionalization of a disciplinary policy. The legality of employment law that should apply to college football players is still up for debate. But the players actively in the recruiting process with the NFL should be protected.

At the very least, they should have representation throughout this part of the cycle.

Finally, this is problematic because of the lack of publicity this agreement is getting. The NFL and AFCA just drastically changed the rules of professional football recruiting. It would be interesting to know how the NFLPA feels about this new set of regulations.

Nick Saban and Urban Meyer are going to benefit from this new change in policy.

How?

The more athletes they send to the NFL, the more attractive they are to recruits who intend to  play professionally. Nearly every NCAA institution calls itself “NFL U.” In this case, Saban and Meyer are legitimately trying to make that pipeline a reality.

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