People keep saying this, but who is the last young QB to have his career end or be significantly altered on a dime ("at any second")? The closest I can think of would be Simms, and I think everyone would have to agree that a ruptured spleen is about as fluke of an injury as you can get. By and large, medical technology is at a point now to where if you have a desire to come back, you can return from almost any injury as good (or better) than ever. I also wouldn't say Bradford didn't get helped by it - there are certainly many worse NFL organizations than the Rams. Luck is in a unique position of essentially KNOWING the team he would go to (provided he doesn't pull an Eli), and there are some major red flags around Carolina. If I had the family money he does and a giant insurance policy, I would definitely be choosy (if my draft status were at a point I could be) about the organization I put myself in. Bradford was the absolute worst case scenario, and unless you think he'll be beating himself up for starting his earnings at age 22 instead of 21, he wasn't hurt by it. The upside was he had a chance to go out and compete for a national title in college and enjoy one more season on campus. Were I secure in my eventual financial status, that's a tradeoff I would make myself, if I were in that position.
He still wants to be in college and hang...I have no problem with that...but knowing the financial make up will change for rookie salaries, how can you not go to the nfl...he's a great player and will be great next year, but monetarily, it would have been better to just go now...
Whats the main reason for college in todays society...pretty much to get an education so that you can live the "American Dream"...well if your God Given talent presents itself to live that dream a year early and make a **** load of cash ...I say "peace out"...you can always go back and get that useless plaque...The NCAA needs to investigate people like him because obviously he aint hurtin for cash..Somebody takin care of him financially to pass on an opportunity like that....although Im kiddin ask yourself who the "self-righteous Tebow have left early if he was a projected number 1 overall pick after his junior year...Maybe(most definitely)... maybe not....what was the topic about again????
Of course, YOU say that. But that doesn't mean someone else that doesn't believe his goal in life is to make a "**** load of cash" is stupid. Maybe his priorities are different than yours. Lots of people go into professions not designed to maximize how much cash they make. Umm, we all know his financial situation. His family has money (his dad is te AD at West Virginia) and he will get an insurance policy. Maybe, maybe not. Peyton Manning didn't. I doubt he has any regrets. Leinart didn't. Vince Young did. Ryan Leaf did. They probably both have a lot of regrets. It doesn't always work out the way you might think.
Or for that matter, Sam Bradford stayed. His family didn't have lots of money. But he got his insurance, he was fine, and I really doubt he regrets having stayed.
Luck has nothing left to prove though. All he wants to do is chill and have his choice of banging a different sorority chick every day. That and he has redflags about carolina and other stuff like the possible lockout. The only thing is he's saying that it's about the degree when it's not, you can finish your degree anytime.
Some of you guys are acting like he's decided to stay in the gutter, and not come out. The guy is staying to complete his degree at STANFORD UNIVERSITY. Even if he never played another snap of football in his life, he will do just fine. And I have to agree with The Cat here. The Panthers are one of the worst-run franchises in sports, and there is no way that did not play a part in his decision. Plus, as others have said, a rookie pay-scale is about to be instituted, so all of you people saying he's leaving MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of dollars on the table are being incredibly over-dramatic. The money will still be there for him next year, and he's still going to be a top 5 pick (hell, he's still going to be the #1 pick). Can anybody name me a quarterback prospect that's going to overtake him next year? LOL at the guy saying he's gonna back up Peyton in Indy.....some of you are so emo!
Or maybe he wants to win a Heisman or a national championship. You can, but life often gets in the way. Lots of people plan to do lots of things, but reality makes it never happen. Maybe he see he has an opportunity to complete a major goal of his (his architectural design degree) now rather than waiting until he's 35 and having to retake classes/etc with 20 year olds to finish up a degree when his life in a different place. The NFL will be there next year. The college experience won't be.
Nothing left to prove? Uh, besides winning a Pac-10 and national championship??? It's not all about YOU, when you're a player. Ask Andre Johnson how it feels to be the best at his position, but never win anything. If Luck cares about college football, there's plenty left for he and his team to prove. The really good ones in sports - they're driven by winning, and in that sense, he does have something left to prove. It's not all about just getting to No. 1 in the NFL draft.
sorry major mane...didnt know I touched a nerve....you right his priorities are different because Im gone after my sophomore year even if I'm not projected to go high ....I dont work for folks that aint payin me....so you got me!!!...Im bout that paper mane...I can live the college life at the parties I would throw at the Hamptons....
Think i he were black he would have came out??...just sayin...the folks yall mentioned who came back when they dont have to seem to be of the caucasian complexion...But I could be wrong!!! RUNTELDAT
I'm referring to the NFL - any player, QB or whatever, can have their career or LIFE irreperably altered on any given play. Bo Jackson, Joe Theismann, etc, the list goes on and on and on. In a league where most contracts aren't guaranteed that is significant. I'm speaking from a strictly economic standpoint - he very definitely hurt himself. WOuld you rather go into the lockout with $10 million or $5 million? Easy answer. Sure, in an ideal world he would have had had that chance - in actuality that didn't happen, instead he had a miserable year spent in a sling for a mediocre squad. That's the tradeoff I'm evaluating - and in hindsight, it wasn't a good one.
How well is he going to play next year? I think it'll be pretty interesting to see how well he does without Jim Harbaugh and that huge offensive line.
Most of the black QBs that have come out don't have a wealthy family. A big part of their goal is to make money and take care of their family. Luck doesn't have that concern. Many of them also see the NFL as their primary option for success. Luck will have a Stanford degree in a pretty good field. He'll be fine no matter what. The risk/reward is simply not the same for him vs Vince Young, for example. There are similar examples all over the place in college basketball. Guys like Hansborough and Joakim Noah stayed another year simply because they could, even though it wasn't likely to help their draft stock much, if at all. Others like Kevin Durant who really wanted to stay, didn't because it was more important from their life situation to get the money.
Those examples are from a very different medical time, and in Jackson's case, an entirely different position. Yes, anything can happen - but then again, you can die in a car crash while going to work. At some point, the risk is low enough that you shouldn't let it dictate your life. Unless you think the lockout is likely to last an incredibly significant amount of time (a year or more), I think that's completely irrelevant. It's another example of a question that is theoretically possible, but at some point, the risk is low enough that I wouldn't want to let it dictate my life's decision. Of course in actuality the likelihood of the tradeoff working out isn't good. In Bradford's case, he had already won the Heisman Trophy. The only reason, from a football standpoint, he was going back was to try and win a national title. For any team, the odds of winning it all (prior to the season) are less than 50/50 (usually much less), and everyone knows it. The point of the tradeoff is to give himself the chance. Ultimately, it didn't work out - but your evaluation is faulty because you're using only the end result to determine whether the decision was "good". It was also about the process, and whether he'd regret later on in life not knowing what could have been (as well as simply another year of college life). From a competitive standpoint, I highly doubt Bradford thinks it was a bad tradeoff. From a financial standpoint, I highly doubt Bradford thinks it was either, unless he thinks the lockout will go on for an eternity.
Even if the lockout lasts years, Bradford got an $18MM signing bonus. His base salary in 2011 is $400,000. In 2012, it's $1.2 million. The lockout isn't going to affect him in any material way.
This kid comes from a different world, no need to try to over analyze this, he really wants his design architecture degree, his dad has money, he's the biggest name in northern cali.
I think that plays a role, obviously money isn't a huge concern for him. The NFL is a tough business, and he knows he's still going to be the #1 QB on the board next year barring any unforeseen catastrophes. With the rookie wage scale coming into play, we might see more of this kind of thing happening. LaMichael James is staying at Oregon.
