Minor league system time?

Is it time for a minor league system?

  • Yes, should of already been there.

    Votes: 24 50.0%

  • Yes, however; we should see what this NIL does first.

    Votes: 2 4.2%

  • No... things are great, the way it is.

    Votes: 1 2.1%

  • No, but it would be nice to have a level playing field with the NIL.

    Votes: 17 35.4%

  • Other.... Comment with your option...

    Votes: 4 8.3%
  • Total voters
    48
  • Poll closed .
Jmonty71

Jmonty71

Flats Noob
Joined
Sep 28, 2021
Messages
651
The one thing that I believe baseball, has right, is the minor league system. Those that want to get paid, have the option, to get paid. Those that need to improve, can play college ball, with a scholarship. The NFL is way behind on the times. I feel that we would benefit more, by having a minor league system. Let the schools, that actually still care about teaching, do that....teach.... Schools like Bama, UGA, Michigan, LSU and such.... they don't bring these 4 and 5 star kids in, to give them an education. In fact, I am willing to bet, they don't give a damned about their education. They care about winning and nothing else. If this kid fails making it to the NFL, his future involves saying "would you like to supersize that"?... So the question is this. Is it time for the NFL to create a minor league system and let schools become schools, once again?
 
What you don't understand, Jmonty, is that the NFL is choosing to be, as you say, "behind the times". This way, someone else pays for their minor league. Also, these power factory schools will want to have football continue at the highest level, academics be damned. So, maybe the NFL will work with them to create this upper league without any academic requirements - teams that are associated with their universities in "name only", but I just don't see it. They would rather let others, rich alumnists, etc. pay for their minor league.

I do agree that a minor league, defined as such, with NO academic pretense is a good idea.
 
In a perfect world, sure, it would make plenty of sense. Problem is, no one has any incentive whatsoever to do this. Not the NFL. Not the schools. Not the TV networks. So, it won't happen.
 
AlabamaBuzz said:
What you don't understand, Jmonty, is that the NFL is choosing to be, as you say, "behind the times". This way, someone else pays for their minor league.
Click to expand...

Bingo. Right now the NFL pays very close to $0 for their talent pool - CFB does that for them for free. The NFL doesn't have much of an incentive to do otherwise.
 
AlabamaBuzz said:
What you don't understand, Jmonty, is that the NFL is choosing to be, as you say, "behind the times". This way, someone else pays for their minor league. Also, these power factory schools will want to have football continue at the highest level, academics be damned. So, maybe the NFL will work with them to create this upper league without any academic requirements - teams that are associated with their universities in "name only", but I just don't see it. They would rather let others, rich alumnists, etc. pay for their minor league.

I do agree that a minor league, defined as such, with NO academic pretense is a good idea.
Click to expand...
Very well explained.... I get it... NFL isn't footing the bill, the schools and boosters are. However; this will lead to some bad things... Will these schools accept responsibility when one of these 18 year old kids, go on a speeding spree and gets involved in drugs?? I know the answer.. no. If schools aren't going to teach, they should be stripped of all their academic prowess. We know, once money gets involved, corruption and greed follow. Look no further than our politicians.
 
Jmonty71 said:
The one thing that I believe baseball, has right, is the minor league system. Those that want to get paid, have the option, to get paid. Those that need to improve, can play college ball, with a scholarship. The NFL is way behind on the times. I feel that we would benefit more, by having a minor league system. Let the schools, that actually still care about teaching, do that....teach.... Schools like Bama, UGA, Michigan, LSU and such.... they don't bring these 4 and 5 star kids in, to give them an education. In fact, I am willing to bet, they don't give a damned about their education. They care about winning and nothing else. If this kid fails making it to the NFL, his future involves saying "would you like to supersize that"?... So the question is this. Is it time for the NFL to create a minor league system and let schools become schools, once again?
Click to expand...
I don't see how a minor league football system benefits:
  • Players
  • Coaches
  • College teams
  • NFL
  • Broadcast networks
  • Conference
  • Random boosters with deep pockets

So I don't think it will happen.
 
Everyone thinks its because the NFL can let CFB foot the bill but the real reason is minor league model, where an aspiring pro can toil for years while honing their skills until they are ready for the majors, just doesnt fit professional football. In the NFL, its all about if you have the measurables to play in their league. It doesnt matter how long you can develop your skills, you either have the ability or don't and there is no amount of minor league development that will help you grow another two inches or run that 4.4. The NFL is also about short term investment where most of the players are there to fill a role while they're cheap (rookie contract) and wont see a second contract. The window for most players is too short for a minor league system.
 
It sort of already exists outside of NCAA. The USFL is back, and there's the CFL, there's the IFL, and maybe eventually the XFL gets off the ground. All seem like places for college players that couldn't quite make it in the NFL go to be wash-outs. I don't know that an NFL minor league would be any different.

One thing that bugs me about USFL & XFL is market redundancy. Seems stupid to me that they largely push these franchises to cities that already have NFL teams (yes, exceptions occur). Why not go for 2nd tier cities that have strong football fan bases, but no team?
 
TampaBayJacket said:
Everyone thinks its because the NFL can let CFB foot the bill but the real reason is minor league model, where an aspiring pro can toil for years while honing their skills until they are ready for the majors, just doesnt fit professional football. In the NFL, its all about if you have the measurables to play in their league. It doesnt matter how long you can develop your skills, you either have the ability or don't and there is no amount of minor league development that will help you grow another two inches or run that 4.4. The NFL is also about short term investment where most of the players are there to fill a role while they're cheap (rookie contract) and wont see a second contract. The window for most players is too short for a minor league system.
Click to expand...
Ummmm...you just described CFB.
 
TampaBayJacket said:
Everyone thinks its because the NFL can let CFB foot the bill but the real reason is minor league model, where an aspiring pro can toil for years while honing their skills until they are ready for the majors, just doesnt fit professional football. In the NFL, its all about if you have the measurables to play in their league. It doesnt matter how long you can develop your skills, you either have the ability or don't and there is no amount of minor league development that will help you grow another two inches or run that 4.4. The NFL is also about short term investment where most of the players are there to fill a role while they're cheap (rookie contract) and wont see a second contract. The window for most players is too short for a minor league system.
Click to expand...

But the NFL does let them "toil for years." In fact, its own draft eligibility requirements forces them to. That time may not make players run faster or jump higher, but it gives them plenty of time to improve their strength and conditioning and gain experience against better competition than they've previously faced.

I think you're mostly right about how the NFL sees players on a rookie contract, but you've ignored that a large part of why they're able to view them in this way is because they're grown men 3-5 years out of high school. Unlike the NBA and MLB, the NFL generally drafts players who they expect to contribute pretty soon after being drafted, if not right away.
 
I'm commenting with my option.

And my comment is . . .

I wish that the posters here were more literate and intelligent than to write "should of."
 
gtfan088 said:
But the NFL does let them "toil for years." In fact, its own draft eligibility requirements forces them to. That time may not make players run faster or jump higher, but it gives them plenty of time to improve their strength and conditioning and gain experience against better competition than they've previously faced.

I think you're mostly right about how the NFL sees players on a rookie contract, but you've ignored that a large part of why they're able to view them in this way is because they're grown men 3-5 years out of high school. Unlike the NBA and MLB, the NFL generally drafts players who they expect to contribute pretty soon after being drafted, if not right away.
Click to expand...
No that fact is not lost on me. However, a minor league system just wont work for the NFL for more reasons than I've listed. The main issue is it takes a huge amount of expensive support to run a football team, way more than other professional sports. It's just infinitely harder to run a football team than a minor league baseball team. Also, you lose the college mass marketing of future NFL players, something the NBA has learned about the hard way. Finally, the wear and tear on a player is greater in a pro league than college. A freshman can redshirt and basically workout and grow for a year. That ain't happening in the pros. If you're developing that player, you're playing them to develop and not sitting them to grow into their body. So many other reasons to list but I'm not sure its even worth discussing on this pointless topic?
 
Jmonty71 said:
Very well explained.... I get it... NFL isn't footing the bill, the schools and boosters are. However; this will lead to some bad things... Will these schools accept responsibility when one of these 18 year old kids, go on a speeding spree and gets involved in drugs?? I know the answer.. no. If schools aren't going to teach, they should be stripped of all their academic prowess. We know, once money gets involved, corruption and greed follow. Look no further than our politicians.
Click to expand...
Where have you been the past 50 years?
 
TampaBayJacket said:
No that fact is not lost on me. However, a minor league system just wont work for the NFL for more reasons than I've listed. The main issue is it takes a huge amount of expensive support to run a football team, way more than other professional sports. It's just infinitely harder to run a football team than a minor league baseball team. Also, you lose the college mass marketing of future NFL players, something the NBA has learned about the hard way. Finally, the wear and tear on a player is greater in a pro league than college. A freshman can redshirt and basically workout and grow for a year. That ain't happening in the pros. If you're developing that player, you're playing them to develop and not sitting them to grow into their body. So many other reasons to list but I'm not sure its even worth discussing on this pointless topic?
Click to expand...

Well, to me, the first rebuttal to the idea of an NFL-supervised minor league being infeasible is that CFB makes such a league unnecessary, and the NFL has made CFB its de facto minor league through its own gatekeeping. Right now, there isn't a particularly compelling reason for the NFL to change its basic model. If CFB ends up self-destructing and/or the NIL money becomes so crazy that pro-caliber players are finding loopholes to stay until they're like 25, that could change.

Not sure how much the college marketing of these guys matters once they get into the pros, as several of the more rabid fanbases are in northeastern cities where college football just isn't that big. With draft analysis basically being year-long now, it's easy to stay plugged into who the top prospects are without really watching the games.
 
As someone who doesn’t watch soccer, the idea has been thrown about about establishing relegation in the future once the dust settles on 20-24 team leagues. This idea will truly show who is / is not trying in CFB. Bottom 4 from each league can be moved down, while others move in their place. Seems to be a pretty solid idea.
 
Yes. Anything but the current system. College football is ruined. The sport hasn't been good since the mid-10's.

I just want to fast forward like 20 years to when everyone else has realized it and is demanding changes
 
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