By Kevin Baez and Steven Olenick
With the NBA lockout now taking place, athletes are considering alternatives. For many NBA players, such as All-Star Point Guard, Deron Williams, it gives them an opportunity to go overseas and still play basketball at a competitive level in a foreign country. However, many athletes should think twice about what to do. Athletes should think beyond their athletic ability and focus on what is best for them and their families’ in the long-term. Athletes should use the time they currently have on their hands by going back to school and earning their degree.
Statistics have supported this alternative. According to a report by the New York Times in October of 2009, only about 21 percent of then-current NBA players had undergraduate degrees. 1 Debbie Rothstein Murman, the director for career development for the union, notes that during the offseason prior to the 2009-2010 NBA season, about 45 athletes (10 percent) of the league decided to spend their time in the classroom to earn their degrees. 2 While this statistic gives a positive outlook on education by current players and an increasing intrinsic value associated with players obtaining their undergraduate degree, the problem lies in the fact that there is no mandate in the NBA requiring current or former players to obtain their undergraduate degree. Every year we see more and more top college athletes leave college early to play professional basketball. For many college athletes, they only enter college because it is a requirement in order to be eligible to declare for the NBA draft. This rule was put into effect back in 2006, requiring that players be one year removed from high school and be at least 19 years of age. Prior to this rule, the age requirement was only 18, and as a result many high school athletes skipped college for the NBA. With this current generation of NBA players, it is more of a norm to see college athletes getting drafted as a freshman or sophomore. In this year’s draft, 18 of the 60 athletes selected were in fact seniors, however, of the first 15 draft selections, seven athletes were either freshmen or sophomores and only one was a senior (Jimmer Fredette, who went tenth overall).
Younger college athletes being drafted may reveal the idea that the NBA believes, that in terms of talent, the younger you are translates to having the most potential upside. In prior generations when collegiate players were being drafted, it was just the opposite. In the 1985 NBA draft class, there were no freshmen of sophomores selected in the first round, whereas, the 2011 NBA draft had ten players who were either a freshman or sophomore. Athletes today may feel the pressure of entering the draft when their stock is at a premium, which in most cases happens when they are younger. One can suggest that with the more experience an athlete has competing at the college level, the athlete would be more prepared for the rigors of the NBA. The 1985 draft class is a prime example of this. This was the same draft class that included Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, Joe Dumars, and others.
The main issue that exists is what the athlete does after his NBA career is over. As reported in an article by Sports Illustrated in March of 2009, an estimated 60 percent of NBA players go broke within five years of retirement. 3 Financial mismanagement is a sad but common theme for many professional athletes. With NBA players going broke while not having a degree, there is no security for a comfortable living, let alone a job. There is one solution to this epidemic of players going broke and not having an education. As part of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the NBA should include a clause in players’ contracts, which mandates that in the event that you are not a college graduate, after a certain amount of time in the league, the player must return to school to earn their degree in the offseason. Although many of these young professional athletes do state that they have intentions of returning to school at some point in their career, very few actually follow up on their word. Combine that with the alarming statistic that 60 percent of players go broke within five years of retirement; the problem can turn into a downward spiral and get out of control if not properly addressed. Earning a degree will pay great dividends’ in the long run by serving as collateral to help athletes find a secondary career after their days as a professional athlete come to an end. Athletes now have the time to complete their school obligations if they wish to use their time efficiently and invest in themselves for their future post playing days.
1 Abrams, Jonathan. “N.B.A. Players Return to Where They Once Hastened to Leave – College – NYTimes.com.” The New York Times – Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 06 Oct. 2009. Web. 07 July 2011.
2 See Id
3. Torre, Pablo S. “Recession or No Recession, Many NFL, NBA and Major League – 03.23.09 – SI Vault.” Breaking News, Real-time Scores and Daily Analysis from Sports Illustrated – SI.com. 23 Mar. 2009. Web. 18 Apr. 2011.
Steven Olenick is a lawyer at Davis & Gilbert LLP in New York City. He counsels current and retired professional athletes, coaches, and sports agencies in all aspects of their career. He can be reached at solenick@dglaw.com
