Rookie Symposium

[Vinny]

Class of 2004 hears plenty of stories
By Tom Shanahan
Courtesy of Chargers.com

Vincent cautioned preparing for life after football begins now because some draft picks won't survive training camp this year, and many more won't after one year.

"What will you do when, what we call the grim reaper, comes to take your playbook?" Vincent asked.

Mike Haynes, the NFL vice president for player development, explained the NFL has programs to help players finish college and work internship programs. He cited statistics that showed "75 percent of the players left the NFL not by choice," emphasizing the importance of being financially prepared. Since the average career is only four years, life after football can begin at age 26, if not sooner, Haynes pointed out.

Haynes also cited statistics that show 94 percent of the players who violate the personal-conduct rules are athletes who didn't graduate from college.

http://nfl.com/news/story/7457673

[J-Man]

I wonder what is the percentage of NFL players had their degrees by the time training camp rolled around? Also what is the % of players currently in the NFL with no degree...might be interesting in light of your posted stats on the Personal Conduct violations.

[Tulip]

Originally Posted by J-Man

I wonder what is the percentage of NFL players had their degrees by the time training camp rolled around? Also what is the % of players currently in the NFL with no degree...might be interesting in light of your posted stats on the Personal Conduct violations.

That was my first thought.

[Panther5407]

If some of these kids make some bad mistakes, they wont have a degree to fall back on and that is gonna hurt them in the long run.