[Giants]

More than anything else this thread convinced me we really, really need an NFL sponsored D-League.  

We need an option for talented players who want to play ball but view the rest of college (mandatory classwork, dorm life, school commitments, etc) as a nuisance with limited value.  If you are enduring college for a chance at professional sports then of course you want to be paid - you don't value the quid-pro-quo on offer and the money generated by big time sports is evident all around you.  To that person NCAA sports looks like indentured servitude. 

Of course to others it looks like the opportunity of a lifetime.  

The NFL has floated upon the free player development provided by the NCAA for at least 50 years.  There is no viable argument saying they don't have the money to make a d-league happen.  They've been supported by a free system which births well-known/hyped, well trained, and talented players into their league every year.  On the flip-side colleges are the only apprenticeship available if you want to play in the NFL.  (I'd guess NCAA alumni make up >98% of the NFL roster spots with the exceptions being over-seas kickers.)

We need an NFL sponsored D-League - so do the players.

Math is the reason a D League for the NFL is unrealistic.  There simply are not enough players to fill the number of rosters required to create a league.

Most colleges are not going to walk away from good players if their academics are marginal or better.  And those players are not going to give up the opportunity to play in front of tens of thousands of people at the same time their games are on national TV.  Therefore, only the mediocre players and those with horrible transcripts would go to the D League.  Why would the NFL want to sponsor a league full of players who have little or no chance of making it to the League?

[Giants]

More than anything else this thread convinced me we really, really need an NFL sponsored D-League.  

We need an option for talented players who want to play ball but view the rest of college (mandatory classwork, dorm life, school commitments, etc) as a nuisance with limited value.  If you are enduring college for a chance at professional sports then of course you want to be paid - you don't value the quid-pro-quo on offer and the money generated by big time sports is evident all around you.  To that person NCAA sports looks like indentured servitude. 

Of course to others it looks like the opportunity of a lifetime.  

The NFL has floated upon the free player development provided by the NCAA for at least 50 years.  There is no viable argument saying they don't have the money to make a d-league happen.  They've been supported by a free system which births well-known/hyped, well trained, and talented players into their league every year.  On the flip-side colleges are the only apprenticeship available if you want to play in the NFL.  (I'd guess NCAA alumni make up >98% of the NFL roster spots with the exceptions being over-seas kickers.)

We need an NFL sponsored D-League - so do the players.

Math is the reason a D League for the NFL is unrealistic.  There simply are not enough players to fill the number of rosters required to create a league.

Most colleges are not going to walk away from good players if their academics are marginal or better.  And those players are not going to give up the opportunity to play in front of tens of thousands of people at the same time their games are on national TV.  Therefore, only the mediocre players and those with horrible transcripts would go to the D League.  Why would the NFL want to sponsor a league full of players who have little or no chance of making it to the League?