By: Kylan Watson
A new Pro football league called the Pacific Pro Football League is being created by a group of former coaches, scouts, players and agents. The new league is going to fill the gap between college football and the National Football League (NFL). This league unlike college football will offer players $50,000 dollars per year. The real question is will this new league put pressure on the NCAA to pay players.
The league will begin sometime in 2018 and will consist of four teams based in California. There will be limits on the players that can play in the league. To participate in the league players must not have been out of high school for more than four years. This league will be headed by Don Yee who is the Chief Executive Officer of the league. The new league was co-founded by Yee and former NFL football player Ed McCaffrey. The Pacific Pro Football League will also provide players with the opportunity to be coached by coaches who have been around professional football.
This new alternative is coming up during a time when the debate on whether to pay players or not is raging in college sports. This league if successful could decrease the crop of NFL ready talent in college football. This league may force the NCAA to do something that they have been trying to avoid, finally recognizing their athletes as professional players and paying them accordingly.
In college sports everyone makes money off the backs of players except the players. Colleges all across the country are building new stadiums and paying college coaches exorbitant amounts of money to help get the best out of the players so they can continue to make money off of their talent. The NCAA should pay their players or risk their talent leaving for leagues like the Pacific Pro Football League. During this season two top level NFL talents; Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey decided to sit out of their respective bowl games to preserve themselves for the NFL. These players decided to do that so they would not lose their top draft pick status due to injury. That was just a business decision. Imagine how many players will decide to avoid college football altogether for a chance to play NFL level football and to earn 50,000 dollars. This league will force the NCAA to pay its player or offer a bad product on the field.
