Andrew Luck: Why Staying in School for More Than 2 Years Is a Big Mistake

Andrew Luck shocked the NFL and college ranks with his decision to forgo the NFL draft and remain at Stanford for another year.

Luck was seen as the best prospect eligible for the NFL draft, and he was the odds-on favorite to be selected with the No. 1 overall pick.

His decision threw the NFL draft into turmoil, and he crushed the hopes and dreams of teams looking to bid for his services.

The main reason for Luck's desire to remain at school was to complete his degree in architectural design. While an admirable pursuit, it may be all for naught.

If Luck were to have a Brett Favre-like career path—an unlikely scenario, but still plausible—he would be playing in the NFL well into his 30s and maybe even his 40s. By the time he hangs up his cleats for good, that degree could be worthless without any practical experience to back it up.

Of course, if Luck has a short career in the NFL, than his decision to earn a degree works in his favor.

According to the NFL Players Association, the average length of an NFL career is about three-and-a-half seasons. Football is without question a brutal and unforgiving sport. Injuries can occur at any given moment, and careers can end in the blink of an eye.

Quarterbacks face constant pressure, and there are a number of players whose job it is to hunt you down and take you out by any means necessary. By staying at school for another year, Luck exposes himself to the hard hits and rough nature of the sport without the paycheck and glory that are associated at the pro level.

He adds one year to his college career and takes one away from his NFL career.

Luck is in a tenuous situation with a potential NFL lockout looming on the horizon. If a lockout were to occur, Luck then would have made the best decision. However, if a Collective Bargaining Agreement is in place for the 2011-12 NFL season, then maybe not so much.

If for whatever reason Luck regresses in his junior year at Stanford, there's a chance that he may not even be the top pick in the following year's draft. There's also the inherent possibility that another prospect overtakes him in the rankings.

Remember, nothing is guaranteed in life.

No matter how many superlatives are being heaped upon Luck by scouts and draft gurus around the nation, all that can change in a very short amount of time.

The same goes for any and all potential NFL prospects.

Perhaps one of the best and most recent examples of a quarterback forgoing the draft to remain at school—and having the decision backfire on him—would be none other than the Washington Huskies' quarterback, Jake Locker.

Locker was at one point in the discussion to be the potential No. 1 overall pick. Now? Well, there's a chance that he may not even be selected in the first round, let alone the second. The further he falls down the draft board, the smaller the chances are of him getting an opportunity to start in the NFL.

Sure, Locker could have been considered a massive bust if he went on to the NFL last season and ended up as one of the top picks, but if you're going to be ridiculed as a bust, why not make millions of dollars in the process?

With a rookie pay scale likely to be factored into the next NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, Locker missed out on millions of dollars. He also missed out on a chance to prove himself at the pro level. That opportunity may or may not ever come.

However, Locker is far from being the only example. There are a number of recent examples that others should look to when deciding their tenure in the college ranks.

Matt Leinart led the USC Trojans as they tore through the college ranks to an undefeated season that resulted in a national title. He was awarded the Heisman Trophy for his efforts that season. Had he gone into the draft, there was a good chance he would have been selected with the No. 1 overall pick.

Instead, Leinart came back for his senior season, lost to Texas in the title game and fell down the draft board to the No. 10 selection. Leinart was waived by the Cardinals last year and has failed to have any sort of impact at the pro level.

Colt McCoy decided to return for his senior year at Texas and failed to improve upon his numbers from his junior year. While he led the Longhorns to the BCS National Championship Game, he was knocked out of the game early with an injury, and he ended up falling from being a potential first-rounder all the way down to the third round in the NFL draft.

Other quarterback prospects should take heed of the example set by these quarterbacks. Once your draft stock tops out and reaches its pinnacle, it's time for you to move on up to the pro level.

Sticking around with little incentive to do so will only hurt you in the end.