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For some 700 young men, the NFL draft is the culmination of a lifelong dream. A confirmation that all those years of hard work, the sprints in 100 degree heat, squatting in the weight room till you puke, playing through the pain of broken bones and torn ligaments, was worth it. For a even smaller group, the draft means financial security for the rest of their life no matter what else happens.
You may look at Ryan Leaf with disdain and call his career a utter disaster, but let’s remember that Leaf walked away from the game with more than 10 million in cash. Bust or not, Ryan has a pretty good life. But unless you cash that one big check, the draft is merely a chance at a better life and nothing in the NFL is guaranteed.
Only 35 percent of 3rd round picks will ever become starters, and 20 percent of 4th rounders will do the same. 5th round and later picks will be lucky to stick around the league for 3 years. The average career lasts just that long. Most will never gain the financial freedom that is so closely tied with the NFL. And for those that do, it will require a level of effort they have never known.
To make it in the NFL takes a 100 percent commitment from both the body and mind, then mix in a lot of luck and some determination and you have a 10 year vet. Just to make it through training camp as a rookie is an Everest-like task. It makes college two a days seem like flag football. Players are pushed to their limits on a daily basis.
Even if you pass the training camp obstacle course, so much of the equation of success in the NFL is beyond a player’s control. Half the battle is just staying healthy. In college, star players are held out of drills to avoid injury and get special care to ensure their bodies hold up.
In the NFL no such accords are made. The season is brutally long and some of the best players in college started from day one and have a lot of miles on their tires. There is a old saying in boxing: a fighter only has so many fights in his body, and nobody--even the fighter-- knows that number. This can be said for football as well. Nobody knows how many hits their body can take. Many will have their bodies quit on them long before they do.
For other players, especially late rounders, so much has to do with what situation you end up in. If you’re a TE drafted in the 7th round to a team with 4 TE’s already, don’t rent that 2 bedroom just yet. No matter what you do, you’re on your way out of town. You just hope some other team sees you on film and gives you a chance. If you’re the same TE and end up on a team with only 2 and one of them breaks his leg in camp you just made the team. Fate plays a huge roll in the future of these 700 young men.
The NFL can be the greatest thing to ever happen to you or just another page in your life. Most of those drafted this weekend will, in 4 years time, be selling insurance, running fork lifts, or in the case of yours truly--writing about the NFL draft. But they will never forget how they felt on draft weekend, when that childhood dream was finally realized and they could say, even if for only a moment, "I was in the NFL."
Congrats boys and good luck. Every one of you will need some. |
