Dropping Out Of Stanford Is a Bad Life Decision, Unless You Are Andrew Luck

Andrew Luck says he will remain at Stanford for his senior year, despite head coach Jim Harbaugh's decision to go onto the NFL.

Luck led the Stanford Cardinal to a huge victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Orange Bowl to cap off an already outstanding season.

Prior to Luck declaring he would not enter the draft, the Carolina Panthers said that if he were to enter the draft, they would draft him No. 1 overall. It was reported that Luck sought the counsel of Peyton Manning, who went through a similar situation at Tennessee.

Clearly, Luck weighed his options and did what he believed was best for him at the time. I am sure he believes his stock will be just as high at this time next year as this year, his team will be competing for a National Championship, and he will have a legitimate shot at obtaining a Heisman Trophy.

At this point, Andrew Luck has drawn comparisons to John Elway, and Jim Harbaugh has drawn comparisons to Bill Walsh. In my humble opinion, neither of them measure up to their comparisons just yet, but even being mentioned in the same sentence speaks volumes about how they are being perceived.

Matt Leinart decided to stay for his senior year, with the same exact aspirations as Andrew Luck. He would have seemingly been taken No. 1 overall by the San Francisco 49ers, but instead remained in college, and his stock plummeted.

Leinart was taken 10th overall, and while he still received a lucrative contract, he was not the first quarterback taken. While his intentions were admirable, they proved to be costly.

Luck is a better prospect than Leinart, but he could lose out more than Leinart did. The CBA debacle could be reason for Luck to remain in college.

With a lockout looming, it is better for him to play at Stanford than potentially sit at home in his Panthers gear, right? Maybe not from a financial standpoint.

Roger Goodell says imposing a rookie cap could happen in the near future. It seems unlikely the new cap will be in effect for this draft class, but it could very well be imposed prior to the 2012 class.

It is unclear exactly how big of a salary hit the rookies will take, but it appears the change will be drastic.

The rookies have no one to represent them, as the fans, ownership, and veteran players are all at odds with the amount of money shelled out to rookies. Luck would have likely signed a contract that was worth upwards of $80 million.

Sam Bradford received $50 million in guaranteed money last year. The rookie cap may cut his earnings in half. He could cost himself a fortune while trying to chase collegiate accolades and milestones.

Luck is talented and will most likely succeed regardless of when he comes out. That being said, with a new head coach next season, it might have been the perfect time for him to make the transition to the NFL as well.

In a perfect world, Luck will produce just as well as he did in his junior year and accomplish what he is setting out to achieve at Stanford in his senior year; however, we do not live in a perfect world.

I would hate to see a setback or an injury ruin Andrew Luck's shot at going No. 1, but I can't help but think he is taking too big of a gamble by remaining at Stanford.

Staying in school is a good idea for 99.999% of students. The .001% applies to anyone who could potentially lose 30 million dollars by resisting the urge to drop out.