Coming Out Early

For the first time ever, all top three vote-getters for the Heisman trophy will be returning to college football. That this is the first time all three are back should come as no surprise, given that the award is given to the best college football player, and the jackpot contracts that await the top picks. However, there has been more talk recently of a non-finalist choosing to leave college after completing his senior collegiate season.

Is it such a disappointment that Mark Sanchez is leaving “early” for the NFL? Can anyone in college football seriously ask anyone in his position to stay? Pete Carroll, Sanchez’s now former coach at USC, seems to think so.

According to Carroll, history shows quarterbacks who come out early don’t do well in the NFL. And, given Carroll’s coaching credentials, I’ll concede that point. But in business – and professional sports are certainly a business today – the customer is always right.

Who is the customer? The people paying the salaries – the NFL teams desperate for a quarterback to save their franchise. There were some seriously woeful teams this past year. Teams like the Lions would love to find this year’s Matt Ryan, and will shell out the cash accordingly. Sanchez just picked apart the Penn State defense in the Rose Bowl like a kid picks broccoli out of a salad. You can’t get a much better last audition than that.

With Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy, and Tim Tebow all returning, the only other highly touted quarterback in the draft is Georgia’s Matthew Stafford. Regardless of whether Stafford or Sanchez is the first taken, there will be multi-million dollar contracts for both of them. Even Sanchez slips until late in the first round, last year, the 29th and 30th picks of the draft signed contracts of 11.5 and 12 million, with six million guaranteed, over five years. If he happens to be taken in the top ten, last year that meant at least twice as much guaranteed money.

With the Heisman triumvirate – and others – coming out next year, Sanchez might not even crack the first round. And that’s if he stays healthy. As we saw with Tom Brady, even the best pro quarterbacks are one awkward tackle away from a potential career-ending injury. Sure, in order to sign the next blockbuster deal, the draftee will need to perform. But if he doesn’t, it can’t be too hard to live off a few million for the rest of your life.

For those purists who believe college athletes should be students first and athletes first, I ask what are students supposed to be learning? As much as college should shape a person’s character, ultimately the student should leave college with skills to be successfully employed. Sanchez will certainly be employed next year.

In case the NFL folds and he needs to find a new job, did I mention that he’s also going to graduate with his degree in communications this spring? Since Sanchez redshirted his freshman year, he’s been spent four years in college even though he’s only a junior in terms of eligibility, and in that time managed to amass enough credits to graduate – something many non-athletes take five or more years to do. Shouldn’t Carroll be applauding him for fulfilling his role as both a student and an athlete, even if privately he’s disappointed that he’ll have to chose from among the top rated high school quarterback and a top recruit from 2006 who transferred to USC and spent last year redshirting?

Carroll does an excellent as a college coach, and he is handsomely rewarded for it with his own multi-million dollar contract. Is it too much to ask for him to wish his players well when they seek the same payday?