I don't think we're arguing the same points.
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Originally Posted by the8bandarmadillo
Really? For every Kobe Bryant there is a Travis Outlaw. The biggest problem? Physically. You want a skinny 18 year old kid to go against a 30 year old? Especially in the NFL, young players would absolutely get mauled. There is a huge gap between 18 and 22 (when players are generally drafted). Not to mention there is the maturity factor. There was a huge reason why the NBA decided to not draft players out of high school.
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Look at 18 year old Maurice Clarett or Adrian Peterson, the running backs who dominated at Ohio State in 2002 and Oklahoma in 2004. Just because this applies most of the time doesn't mean it applies all of the time; either way, you're passing a law to save people from themselves. Also not sure how Sidney Crosby manages to handle himself as an 18 year old in the NHL while Adrian Peterson, who was bigger and stronger by every metric, couldn't have done the same in the NFL.
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Originally Posted by the8bandarmadillo
Not to mention salary caps. You want to give an 18 year old 20 million dollars?
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That's a GM's problem. If I were a GM, I would have to evaluate the risk/reward for each individual player. If I saw a high schooler Michael Kidd-Gilchrist or Tim Tebow, I would probably make with the cash; others I would not trust to make the jump in terms of talent, physical ability and maturity. Which is why lesser players would be well-served to accept Duke's offer and spend a couple years developing their games in the NCAA.
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Originally Posted by the8bandarmadillo
If they don't want to get a free education, then don't be complaining about they aren't getting paid. It's a bartering system and a smart one. It sure as hell does matter if Pryor would get in academically. Just because someone is gifted athletically, does that mean they should be superior to those gifted academically?
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We're not arguing the same point; offering Terrelle Pryor something he couldn't get otherwise (an Ohio State education if he chooses to stick around all 4-5 years) isn't an excuse for offering something he doesn't want as much as, and that isn't as valuable as, cash. Even the highest-end private university education is worth ... $40k a year? The lowest-end contracts in Major League Soccer are less, but the NBA and NFL aren't allowed to pay anyone anything close to that little. When an internet upstart offers its first employees stock options instead of cash, they are free to choose that or choose to work for another, comparable company that offers cash. If a fictitious Internet Companies Coalition decreed that it was illegal for any computer / internet / information technology employee with less than 5 years experience to be paid cash ... that they all had to be paid with stock options and free mittens ... that would be collusion and it would be illegal.
