College juniors are now free to enter the National Football League draft, the league announced yesterday. In a widely anticipated move, Commissioner Paul Tagliabue reversed league policy in anticipation of the record number of players expected to forgo their senior college seasons and petition for inclusion in this year's April 15 draft.
In a memorandum issued yesterday to NFL clubs, Tagliabue rewrote the league's long-standing rule that college players must have used their eligibility before entering the draft. The NFL was the last major professional organization to bar undergraduates from its ranks, and many believed the policy could not withstand a legal challenge because it restricts a player's ability to earn a living.
Only players who have been enrolled in school for at least three years may enter the draft, the league announced. Ten prominent college juniors already had announced they would petition the NFL for entry, including Florida running back Emmitt Smith and West Virginia quarterback Major Harris.
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Agents and league officials have predicted as many as two dozen top juniors could declare their intentions to enter the draft; one still pondering such a move is Andre Ware of Houston, last year's Heisman Trophy winner.
Under the new guidelines an undergraduate must apply by March 22, and accompany his application with an affidavit "irrevocably renouncing his remaining college eligibility." Also, the NFL's supplemental draft for college undergraduates is now eliminated.
"Commissioner Tagliabue in his first months in office is conducting a widespread review of all NFL policies and programs," league spokesman Joe Browne said in a statement. "He felt it was time -- in light of both developments on campus and the reality of eligibility rules for other professional sports -- to initiate changes in our draft eligibility procedures."
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Last year Barry Sanders of Oklahoma State was granted entry as a junior because his school was on probation. NFL officials had been studying the issue for some time because of the number of undergraduates petitioning for entry in 1990.
The NFL and NCAA held a series of talks on potential rule changes. A proposal supported by NCAA Executive Director Dick Schultz was to allow undergraduates to explore their worth in the draft but retain their eligibility if they did not sign with a team. Such a policy was not supported by the NFL, and Browne said that Tagliabue did not consider it practical, calling it "unworkable and counterproductive."
Browne said the league does not wish to encourage "ever larger numbers of underclassmen to forgo college eligibility." The statement cited a study conducted from 1978-88 that showed 47 percent of all first-year NFL players were released before their third season.
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Tagliabue "strongly believes that staying in school is in the best interests of the overwhelming majority of young athletes for educational, athletic and personal reasons," Browne said. "It is a very difficult transition from colleges to the NFL, even for the best collegiate players. Statistics show that the chances of making an NFL team and remaining under contract for more than two years are not good, even for players who have taken full advantage of their college opportunities."
The league still might face a legal challenge, although agent Leigh Steinberg said: "The broader the classification of people allowed in, the better chance it has of withstanding judicial scrutiny." However, NFL Players Association assistant executive director Doug Allen said it is not unthinkable that a sophomore could challenge the NFL policy in court.
"It seems to me to be bowing to the inevitable," Allen said. "But it doesn't seem any more defensible. What is the difference between a junior and a sophomore? . . . It is likely to be challenged and set aside by a player in the future."
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New York Giants General Manager George Young has been a longtime opponent of early entry on the grounds that players face a high rate of failure in the NFL, then have no way of returning to college football.
"Like every other industry, you want your employees to have the best education and training to come into their field," Young said. "For the few who make a million dollars, I think of the others who fall by the wayside. I'm thinking about the other ones who are misled and have illusions of grandeur. But I understand where we're coming from, the legalities."
One thing all parties seem to agree on is that the addition of undergraduates will make this an attractive draft. Among those who already have announced are Alabama linebacker Keith McCants, Tennessee running back Reggie Cobb, Georgia running back Rodney Hampton, Southern California linebacker Junior Seau and Utah quarterback Scott Mitchell.
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It is believed that many juniors are renouncing their eligibility because they fear a salary cap for rookies by 1991 or 1992, thus limiting their earning potential. NFLPA director of research Mike Duberstein called it "a stampede psychology."
Steinberg cautioned that the players may be undermining their own value in the draft by coming out in droves: "If the numbers who are pondering it all enter, it will be the richest, most talent-laden draft in five or six years. . . . The effect is that some will certainly be drafted lower than if they waited a year."
NFL teams apparently have scouted some of the juniors in anticipation of the new policy, but there will be some overtime put in on researching the new talent pool.
"We scouted players we heard in the underground might be coming out," Young said. "I think most of us were anticipating this. But obviously we have some work to do."
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PLAYERS ANNOUNCED AS OF FEB. 16
Player .............. Pos. ........ School
Reggie Cobb ........... RB ........ Tennessee
Barry Foster .......... RB ........ Arkansas
Rodney Hampton ........ RB ........ Georgia
Major Harris .......... QB ........ West Virginia
Keith McCants ......... LB ........ Alabama
Scott Mitchell ........ QB ........ Utah
Emmitt Smith .......... RB ........ Florida
Marc Spindler ......... DL ........ Pittsburgh
Marcus Wilson ......... RB ........ Virginia
Junior Seau ........... LB ........ Southern Cal
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