quote:

Originally posted by Pale Horse:

Less than 2% according to the NCAA. And the majority of those play professional baseball.

Only 1.1% of NCAA men’s basketball players go to the NBA and 1.5% for football players to the NFL. The academies won’t see even that much loss as the best prospects will still go to universities more invested in their sports programs. The average career in the NFL seems to be around 3 years. Even then there are a lot of guys who barely see any playing time. For every Tom Brady there are a couple hundred guys who got picked up by a team and then got dropped before the season started and ended up bouncing around on practice squads for a year or two before being forgotten.

Those #s are what I figured. Here's an outline of a plan. If...you get a pro contract, said contract gets you an up to 6 year service obligation deferral. By month 1 of year 7, you either need to don the uniform or start making payments. That 1 guy who made it big will stroke a check, the others will go on to serve and do so on average year 3 or 4 'cause they need the paycheck.

I caught it on Twitter when the story first broke. I did not wish to reference Twitter. Here is the complete article from WSJ, a trusted source:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/t...ediately-11557168647

Our military is absolutely competing with colleges, trade schools, and everything else for men and women to join their ranks.

If offering a couple men/women a decade the chance to compete professionally before serving their country, and if that helps the military raise it's profile for said competition, then I'm absolutely all for it.

Look what Alabama football has done for enrollment. These are 17-18 year old kids we're talking about. How do you recruit them to join your institution of choice? It's difficult. I sit on a board where we recruit kids for the building trades. You need everything you can get to help you attract the best kids.

If you want our military to compete, let them compete for talent and don't be a Fudd.

Here is a good example. Good for Notre Dame, not so much for Navy. This happened in 2017.
LINK: https://www.capitalgazette.com...-20170610-story.html

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
Here is a good example. Good for Notre Dame, not so much for Navy. This happened in 2017.
LINK: https://www.capitalgazette.com...-20170610-story.html

According to that article the ban on players going straight to professional sports is relatively new. It says two players went to the NFL in 2016.

quote:

The Department of Defense recently announced that service academy graduates must serve at least two years of active duty before applying for a waiver to play professional sports.

That decision wiped out an earlier ruling that allowed former Navy football players Keenan Reynolds and Chris Swain to play immediately in the NFL after graduation. Reynolds and Swain were members of the practice squads of the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets, respectively, in 2016.

Simply solution here. Let them out of their obligation if they are able to go pro past a certain number of years with the obligation of paying their tuition back. If they try for a year or two and don't make it they fulfill their military obligation. Problem solved.

And what's next after this?

Lowering testing and admittance standards for gifted athletes?

Overlooking transgressions that would be unbecoming of a cadet/officer-candidate? Oops - too late - we already do that at West Point.

A militiary career has alaways involved making choices and sacrfiices.

Not sure I agree with this, after Trump thinks it through it will likely go nowhere.
It disgusts me that College sports are just a prelude to the Pros with no regard of what College should be.
As far as the Military the focus should be on that 100% not personal goals.

I'm in disagreement with the President on this one.

quote:

Originally posted by DennisM:
I'm confused. Are the service academies in the business of producing military officers or professional athletes?

As with any bureaucracy, its mission is to ensure its continued existence.

quote:

Originally posted by Graniteguy:
And what's next after this?

Lowering testing and admittance standards for gifted athletes?

Overlooking transgressions that would be unbecoming of a cadet/officer-candidate? Oops - too late - we already do that at West Point.

Lol, yeah standards are already lowered for some - candidates can be shuffled to other districts or states to get a nomination if they otherwise wouldn't get one from their home state. Athletes, genders, races, etc, etc.

Been happening, well, FOREVER.

I remember Joe Bellino, the Winchester Rifle who won the Heisman for Navy in 1960 and then Staubach in 1963. Those days are long gone.