It certainly is a conflict. Maurice Clarett wants to enter pro football immediately and the NFL wants him to wait. I understand the debate.
And it absolutely would set a precedent. If Clarett comes aboard, the NFL will be unable to stop high school players from making similar leaps of faith. So, yes, I can acknowledge that, too.
It may even lead to mixed results. If Clarett gets his way, there still is a question of how much value he has as an NFL player. Or at least, that's what I've heard.
These are all understandable issues.
What I don't get is the fuss.
I don't get the predictions of doom. I don't get the NFL's defiant stance. I don't see why Chicken Little is being warned to warm up.
This thing is well short of panic and a long way from flop sweat. It will not ruin college football. It will hardly register a blip in the NFL.
Here's why:
Hardly anyone will take advantage of it.
Not quarterbacks. Not many linemen, either offensive or defensive. Very few linebackers and almost no safeties. Maybe a wayward running back. Perhaps a receiver or a cornerback. That's it.
This notion of a rush from the prom to the scouting combine seems overwrought. It doesn't happen in major-league baseball. It rarely happens in the NBA. It seems even more farfetched in football.
"There will be some foolish few who will try it. Guys who, for some reason, think it's wise to test the waters," said Rob Glass, the director of strength and conditioning at the University of Florida.
"It's going to vary from case to case, but most of the time I don't think it's in their best interest."
Think the situation is more dire? Siding with those who are siding with calamity? Consider this quote from an NFL commissioner.
"It would destroy college football - all sports in the colleges."
That was the late Pete Rozelle in 1971 when the NFL was worried about Spencer Haywood challenging the NBA's rules about underclassmen.
Haywood succeeded and, turns out, the NBA survived. So did college basketball, college football and all the rest.
There were similar concerns in 1990 when the NFL began accepting underclassmen who were at least three years beyond high school. Heck, you might have heard the same thing in 1925 when Red Grange left the University of Illinois as a junior for a $100,000 deal with the Bears.
The point is none of these changes was catastrophic because they affected so few athletes.
Think about it. It's a rare day when you find a true freshman starting for a major college football team. So how many do you suppose can bypass the SEC for the NFL? And how many would even want to based on Auburn's pay scale?
As for players leaving college earlier than we're accustomed, that line also would be short.
Just like the NBA, there will be a handful of stars who are so talented the pro scouts will be unable to resist. Just as there will be a handful of fringe players who think they're better than they've been told and will end up ruining whatever chance they had at a free education and a pro career.
Glass has been working in college weight rooms since 1986 and has seen his share of college juniors turning pro. Some, such as Barry Sanders at Oklahoma State and Jevon Kearse at Florida, were ready for the transition.
Others could have used another year of maturation.
"They come back and tell me that halfway through the season they hit a wall," Glass said. "Their bodies just aren't ready to handle the workload. We have a 12-game season. In the NFL, they have training camp, preseason games and then a 16-game season. And they're not lining up across from freshmen in practice. They're facing grown men every time they're on the field."
College basketball has survived the occasional player leaving campus with a freshman orientation guide tucked under his arm. The NFL will, too.
Frankly, the NFL should have been expecting this. No other major professional sports league discriminates against adults based on their age. The only surprise is that it has taken this long to reach court.
And don't believe the NCAA leaders or NFL officials who say they are concerned about the welfare of these young men. They're not. They're concerned about possibly upsetting the boosters in their bleachers. They're concerned about tampering with what has been a free feeder system for years.
The NFL should not waste time or effort in a legal battle. Instead, it should be proactive and expand the guidance system already in place to educate underclassmen considering turning professional.
A football player has a limited number of years in his playing career.
If capable, he should be allowed to spend as many of those years as possible making money.
