Source: Fox News
Summary
A 2026 NFL Draft executive spoke about how the college football landscape, including name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals, has affected the draft. Some college athletes are choosing to stay in school to raise their draft stock and earn a payday from the NFL. NFL teams need to factor in the wear and tear on players’ bodies from playing another year of college football. The 101st pick in this year’s draft is scheduled to make $5.549 million over four years, while a potential Day 2 pick could make more than double that amount.
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The game followed a familiar script.
NFL teams are now considering the wear and tear on players’ bodies from playing another year of college football. It’s no surprise that players are choosing to stay in school to raise their draft stock and earn a payday from the NFL. The risk of playing football is always there, but the talent pool has diminished in each draft as potential prospects would rather stay in school and collect money from their NIL deals. The decision to stay in school comes down to simple math: more money and more time to develop. But at what cost to their bodies?
It’s not hard to see why players would want to stay in school for another year to earn more money and potentially improve their draft stock. But NFL teams need to factor in the wear and tear on players’ bodies from playing another year of college football. It’s a business decision, and NFL teams are just trying to make the most of it.
Original Observation: The real question is, what’s the ultimate cost of staying in school for another year: the potential for a bigger contract or the risk of injury and burnout?
