I like the idea of a developmental league in theory, but as college football evolves to chase every last dollar, it doesn’t really make sense.
NFL Europe was in a slightly different era, you didn’t have endless college football being broadcast in HD. Now, regardless of where someone goes to play college football, NFL scouts can pull out their iPads and watch film on them. I didn’t think there’s many Kurt Warners out there to be discovered.
The problem with using college football as a developmental league is that many schools don’t play NFL style football. A number of positions, especially offensive linemen, practically have to relearn everything from scratch and take a good year to be an effective player. A developmental league could potentially help with that.
Though I will admit, for that to work you would either have young players in that league instead of college (which is potentially problematic) or they go to that league instead of the draft after college before being drafted which solves nothing. So I can’t say for sure that it is really going to be of any practical benefit.
I guess one comparison is how someone graduates college with a business degree but then they need further training once they join the workforce.
It is a tough nut to crack, football careers tend to be very short to begin with and we already see players sitting out bowl games. And the sport is basically only played in the USA and Canada.
Precisely! That is why what works for a sport like baseball can’t work for football. You can give someone a few years to mature on a minor league baseball team before they are ready for the majors. In football, depending on the player and position, they might be past their prime already. And as you said, you’re not pulling in folks from all around the world either.