NCAA Realignment: Why Not Convert the BCS Into NFL's Minor League (Part Two)?

Decisions

Imagine a scenario where Signing day 2012 is broadcast on ESPN, only now its College Draft day.

Gone are the days of recruiters fighting over Blue Chip Athletes and in their place we have the spectacle of NFL Draft day, only now its to see who your College is going to get.

No more last minute changes of heart.

No more of USC grabbing every blue chipper in the state, only to have the third best quarterback in the country never see a meaningful down of college football. 

Do the St Louis Rams, take Jonathan Gray, the 5'10 speedster from Aledo, Texas who has amassed 10,000 rushing yards and 123 TD's in hopes he will be as good as or better than his father was?

Or do they go with the 6'6" 330 pound LT from Kennewick, WA, in hopes of anchoring what will be an aging line in four years?

Of course all this is fantasy today, but could it be real in the near future?

Keeping the feel

How do you keep the feel of today’s college athletics while paying players to play football? 

We all asked if the Olympics would be the same with professionals, and in some ways it is better, but...

The difference here is College football players make millions for their universities every year, and the top tier coaches are commanding multi million dollar contracts. These aren't history teachers who coach on the side. This is big business...

How to do it

So how do we transition to a system where the players are getting more than room board and tuition (arguably a $20,000-50,000 a year payday now)?

Here are a few rules that would make it less like the NFL and more like the College Football we know and love (mostly)

1.       Players can not be traded after Second (RS Fresh/Soph) Year to keep continuity in the program

2.       Players are signed for three years with a bonus for staying all four years

3.       Players will still get a red shirt year

4.       Hardship transfers are available to players, but only to a university under the teams control 

5.       Rule 5 Type Draft during March for walk-ons, as well as Players looking to change programs.

6.       No players could be traded after Second Season

7.       Signing bonuses would be authorized

8.       Monthly Pay for Athletes would be as follows:      

• Freshman                      $3000 
• Sophomores                  $5000
• Juniors                         $7500
• Seniors                       $10,000

9.       Universities Control Rights to Image and Marketing, but pay NFL royalties on any player image content

  Changing Landscape

In the next installment, I will cover the impact on schools like North Texas and Florida International...