<p>“Did a little googling and apparently in the NBA, more players come from middle class and up than poor. Instinct tells me the NFL would be have even fewer poor kids”</p>
<p>In addition, I would think to get to that level you would also have to be fairly bright and have had a decent education.</p>
<p>I heard on the radio tonight that more than 7000 fans lined up to trade in their Ray Rice jerseys for different ones. The other ones ran out after 6000 so the rest of the people were given vouchers. </p>
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<p>That would be “no” and “no”. I’m sure there are NFL players who can barely read. They may go to famous universities, but they system is not designed to place much in the way of academic demands on top football players.</p>
<p>Ah, I would think you would have to be fairly intelligent to get to the very top of any sport, but maybe not.</p>
<p>There are different kinds of intelligence. To be in the NFL, you’d have to be a genius at football. That’s not the same kind of intelligence we usually talk about on CC. </p>
<p>When I was in college, I lived down the hall from a guy who was a starter on the basketball team (this was a bigtime NCAA university, late 70s). There was a girl who was paid to go to classes for him, do his homework, and take his tests. At least during the time I knew him, he did virtually no academic work. I have no idea how intelligent he was, but you couldn’t say he was college educated. He did have a lot of basketball intelligence though.</p>
<p>A friend’s son was a recruiter division A baseball player. They wouldn’t let any of the players take more than the minimum 12 credits per semester. </p>
<p>Interesteddad said: “That would be “no” and “no”. I’m sure there are NFL players who can barely read. They may go to famous universities, but they system is not designed to place much in the way of academic demands on top football players.”</p>
<p>Sad but absolutely true.</p>
<p>The college life of a superior athlete on a big conference campus is completely different from the typical undergraduate. That we have allowed separate dorms and separate cafeterias and essentially separate majors for athletes bewilders me. It’s clear to see that the players who actually get their diplomas are exceptionally motivated and well adjusted, compared to their peers in the arena.</p>
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<p>^^^^Of course it can depend on the sport. I knew a bunch of Division 1 (National Champions) swimmers at my school. They were Olympic level, some of them world record holders, the top of their sport. I think all of them graduated. Many went on to medical school, dental school and orthodontic training, grad school for business, etc. Of course, they had to prepare for other careers, since there is no such thing as professional swimming.</p>
<p>“Of course, they had to prepare for other careers, since there is no such thing as professional [any sport besides men’s baseball, basketball and football, really]”</p>
<p>They don’t call it ‘Moneyball’ for nothing, whether it be baseball, basketball or football.</p>
<p>I actually “know” (as in taught them back when) several young men in the NFL. They are bright, determined, and average to very high IQ. Any of them and their classmates could have (and more than one did) leave the D1 scene and head off to other successful careers during college.<br>
Of course, these kids all had parents who were college grads.</p>