Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck made a decision this week to stay at Stanford rather than becoming the #1 pick in the upcoming NFL draft. Luck had this to say, “I am committed to earning my degree in architectural design from Stanford University and am on track to accomplish this at the completion of the spring quarter of 2012”. His decision and comments have sparked a plethora of reactions from people all over the country; some have said he is the dumbest person to attend Stanford, while others have applauded him for staying to get his degree.
First and foremost it is a decision that he has to make for himself as he is the only one who can live his life, but in this instance 
Luck made the wrong decision. The reason it is the wrong decision is because he had a 99% chance of being the number one pick in the NFL draft, there is only one of them every year and less than 100 lifetime. When that opportunity presents itself you have to take it, and that is not the only perk of being the #1 pick.
The #1 pick in the NFL draft especially at the quarterback position is guaranteed $50 million dollars; it’s what Matthew Stafford received a few years ago. That guaranteed money has to be paid as long as the player does not retire, so that means even if there is an injury or the player just turns out not to be that good. It’s almost like getting a $50 million dollar insurance policy without any sort of parameters around it, he just has to show up and want to play that’s the only thing required of him. Then if he actually turned out to be a good player he could earn even more money which is the non-guaranteed portion of his contract.
The going back to school to get an Architectural design degree excuse is a flimsy one at best, once Luck singed that contract he could easily afford to come back to school and complete his last year of schooling. The truth is $50 million dollars is the type of money where you don’t have to work a day in your life after getting it provided you manage your money right; this kid is more than likely never going to work as an architect a day in his life. He could even start his own architectural firm with the money that he earned from the NFL, and mess with AutoCAD all he wants.
College Degrees are for people who want to help differentiate themselves from the pack in order to get a job, he already has a $50 
million dollar pay day waiting on him so what does he need the Degree for? The bigger issue is that the NFL is headed to a lockout next season unless a new labor agreement is completed, and one of the main issues is rookie compensation. The owners want to slot and cap the amount rookies can earn which means, Luck could lose $20 – $30 million dollars next year by electing to go back to Stanford. Not to mention if he gets seriously injured at some point next season, which could potentially put him out for the entire season or hurt his draft stock.
The fact that Lucks’ father is the Athletic Director at West Virginia probably has a lot to do with it, since his father is in the business of selling the dream of the “student athlete”. What better way can he sell that dream by saying my son turned down $50 million dollars to go back to school and earn his degree (one that would pay him roughly $100,000 a year). Hopefully, Luck will have another stellar season and avoid injury because I am sure he does not want to be known as the kid who turned his back on $50 million.
