Andrew Luck's Success Shows Top Athletes Don't Have to Sacrifice Education

Andrew Luck is undoubtedly one of the most hyped prospects in the history of the NFL Draft. In just a few short weeks he will almost certainly be the first player taken in the 2012 edition of the event.

But what sets Luck apart from other top prospects is the fact that he turned down a ton of cash last year in order to graduate from Stanford, one of the finest academic institutions in the country.

And lest you think Luck just cruised by with an easy major so he could focus on football—he actually graduated with an architecture degree.

While he was being hyped as the near certain choice to be the top pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, Luck was focused on academics and turned down millions of dollars to return to school and earn his degree.

Frankly we should have expected something like that from Luck, considering he was co-valedictorian of his high school, and was a member of three Pac-10/12 All-Academic teams during his time at Stanford.

Luck set a great example for other athletes that football isn't the only thing in life, even if you are a top NFL prospect. As we saw with this year's draft, fellow quarterbacks Matt Barkley and Landry Jones turned down NFL riches to return to USC and Oklahoma respectively.

Hopefully this starts a trend, because top athletes shouldn't sacrifice academics in order to achieve greatness in professional sports. In fact, if anything the education they receive will better prepare them for life in the spotlight, and for handling the massive paydays they will earn at the next level.

Andrew Luck did things the right way in college, and we can only hope that in the future others will follow his example.