For more than a decade, the ‘One-and-Done’ rule in college basketball has been a hot topic for media members and fans alike.
The rule — which requires players to be at least 19 years of age before they enter the NBA Draft — was imposed in 2006, after NBA legends to the likes of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett jumped into the league straight from high school.
In college football, an even stricter rule requires players to wait for three years after graduating high school to turn pro. This rule often goes un-talked about, mainly because the majority of players aren’t ready for the NFL.
After his freshman season at the University of Oklahoma, Adrian Peterson was ready.
With 1,925 yards, 15 touchdowns and a 2nd place finish in the Heisman voting, Peterson could have made the jump to the NFL and been successful doing so. Instead, he was forced to stay for two more seasons in Oklahoma.
“The one guy I used as an example was Cedric Benson,” Peterson said, via ProFootballTalk. “He was a senior my freshman year, and I out-performed him that year, so I was just like, If he could go play in the NFL, why couldn’t I? He went [fourth] overall, and you’ve got a guy that’s younger, with less wear and tear on his body. Where do you put me if he went [fourth]?”
Peterson was drafted No. 7 overall by the Minnesota Vikings in 2007.
While the NBA has given us household names out of high school before the age rule was put into place, there are arguably fewer players who could make that jump in football. The gap between skill level and size from the NCAA to NFL is noticeable, and this rule tries to prevent athletes from making a mistake that might lead to career-ending injury.
Still, you need to look no further than Peterson — or players like Trevor Lawrence this year — to see that this restriction is at times unfair. Lawrence, who led the Clemson Tigers to a blowout win over Alabama in the National Championship Game as a true freshman this year would undoubtedly be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Instead, he is forced to spend two more years playing for free.
It is a rule that ends up costing a select few players millions of dollars, and it doesn’t look to be changing any time soon.
