Matt Leinart stays at USC: College athletes and going pro

In My Humble Opinion
1

I wasn’t sure if this was big enough to rank as a Great Debate, so I decided to put it here instead.

The announcement of Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart that (after a long period of indecision) he would stay at USC, rather than skipping his senior year to go pro, was met with mixed reactions.

'SC and their alumni, of course, were doing cartwheels in the streets. Those who agree with this decision tend to go with the feeling many folks have when they hear of college athletes turning pro before graduating. They feel that somehow those kids are missing out on something, aren’t valuing their education, and are glad to see that they’re “resisting the allure of the big contract.” Besides, of course, there’s the feeling that staying proves Leinart’s loyalty and love for his teammates and school.

Then, of course, there are the people who think he’s made the wrong decision. What if his cachet goes down during next year’s college football season, robbing him of the chance for more money and a better team? What if he’s injured? He could’ve used the millions he earned in the NFL to set himself up for life, THEN go back to school after his inevitable retirement (always early relative to most non-sports careers).

What do you all think? Did Leinart make the right decision? What about college (or even, these days, high school) athletes in general faced with this choice?

2

The important thing is whether it makes him happy, which I presume it does. So by that standard he made the right choice. As far as a pro football career goes, as much as I know people love to applaud a kid for staying in school, I’m worried he made the wrong choice. I don’t think his stock can go any higher, so there’s much more to lose than there is to gain.

I’m not sure how well you can evaluate all athletes who come out early across sports, or even in an individual sport. In the NBA, you can definitely point to some high school kids who took time to develop, or who simply came out too early because they believed the hype and never amounted to anything. Then again, there are a bunch who became stars or superstars. The question is, did they succeed or fail at a different rate from everyone else? I don’t know.

3

I’m big time pro-education, but I have to admit that if Leinart were my son I’d strongly advise him to go pro. After all, school will always be there, and with a fat signing bonus he’ll always be able to afford to go. But an athlete’s career is a fleeting thing, and if you don’t grab the bux when you can, one little injury could blow your chance.