Professional athletes make a career and living off of getting paid millions of dollars to play the sport that they love. And professional athletes can range anywhere from young adults to almost 50 years of age. There have been many conspiracies and debates over the years as to whether or not a professional athlete should have to attend college or a university before being eligible to play their sport at the professional level. And today, I am going to give my opinion as to whether or not athletes should be required to attend college before going professional and the factors that play into the decision.

Age is a huge concern of mine when it comes to being able to go professional in a sport. Professional athletes have to make life-changing decisions that require mature reasoning behind, which is why I believe the athlete must be 18 or considered an adult to go professional. If an athlete is younger than that, then they have to gather consent from their guardians in order to sign endorsement deals and contracts. And these kids are not fully developed mentally, which means they could be making terrible on/off the field decisions that could impact their entire careers. Most 18-year-olds are Freshmen in college, which is why I believe an athlete should be required to attend at least one year of college.

College also opens a variety of different windows and paths for young adults. It gives them leniency and makes it easier to receive job opportunities in their interests. So many young athletes heavily rely on choosing a sport as their profession when it’s not a guaranteed sustainable career. Some of these athletes are not even selected or picked up by a team, essentially ruining their chances of a career in sports. Others who are fortunate to be selected end up sustaining career-ending injuries that force them to retire at a very young age. This is why it is so important to go to college and receive some sort of degree so that you have something to fall back on if sports don’t work out.

College can teach you very important life lesson skills that are essential to utilize when maturing into a young adult such as ad independence and financial stability. You can also build connections through college that can help you out later in life. So it is so important for these athletes to attend college. College can teach you how to manage your finances as well which is crucial for potential professional athletes to know. A lot of previous stars who went professional straight out of high school ended up going bankrupt after their careers didn’t pan out simply because they had no idea how to manage their money. Kids aren’t used to seeing millions of dollars thrown at them all at once and are oblivious to the expense they have to pay on top of the contract such as agencies, endorsements and etc. Kids need to learn these lessons through college, which is why they should be required to attend.

Make sure to leave any comments you might have regarding this post because it really is very controversial. Many people have different opinions on this topic, which is why I really want to hear what you all have to say. It is a topic that has been negotiated for so long and is honestly one that I’m not sure will ever be settled. As always, I leave you guys with some questions: Do you believe potential pro athletes should be required to attend college? How long should they have to attend college if it becomes a requirement?

Feel free to ask any questions you may have on this highly debated topic. I honestly wouldn’t be very surprised if a lot of you have questions being that this topic leaves people curious. Make sure to like and subscribe to the blog if you guys haven’t done so already as I post content almost every day. And be sure to toon into tonight as I talk about NFL fanbase traditions. As always I hope you all have a great day!