Nick Bosa’s situation exposes flaws in the draft eligibility rules of the NFL

Earlier this week Nick Bosa announced he wouldn’t be returning to Ohio State, instead choosing to focus on readying himself for the 2019 NFL Draft. In reality though, there isn’t any reason to think that the younger Bosa brother couldn’t be playing (and making an impact) in the NFL right now.

The only reason that Nick Bosa isn’t playing in the NFL right now is because of the league’s rule that say you have to be three years removed from high school before being eligible for the NFL Draft. While in most cases this rule is meant to help protect the players from the step up in competition they’d face at the professional level, this isn’t one of those instances.

Bosa turns 21 years old next week, but the Buffalo Bills drafted linebacker Tremaine Edmunds out of Virginia Tech in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Why is that important? Edmunds won’t turn 21 until May. Edmunds is having a strong first season with the Bills, and makes you wonder why Bosa couldn’t be making the same impact?

This case is more of the exception and not the norm, but why should players like Bosa be penalized because they are so much better than most of the other players around the country? What if Bosa’s injury had been a career-ending injury? While there is no easy fix to this rule, Bosa and Edmunds have proved that all players don’t need three years out of high school before they are ready for the NFL.

It’s hard to imagine the NFL making a change with this rule, because if they did change it there will just be other situations that arise with younger players, but it is something they should be looking into as players are demonstrating they are ready to contribute positively at the professional level at a younger age these days.

“As part of a newly formed “professional path” starting in the summer of 2019, the G League will offer “Select Contracts” worth $125,000 to elite prospects who are at least 18 years old but not yet eligible for the NBA Draft.”

Jonathan Givony, ESPN

While the NFL should be looking into their eligibility requirements to players in college, the NBA is changing theirs in a way. Players still aren’t able to jump directly from high school to the NBA, but now there is a new path for players, which allows them to earn money in the year in between they must spend out of high school before heading to the NBA.

Players fresh out of high school, who are at least 18 years of age before Sept. 15 of the upcoming season, will now have the opportunity to play in the G League and earn up to $125,000, if the G League feels they are ready for the program. Players will only be able to play one year as one of the G League’s “Select Contracts”.

The “Select Contracts” portion of the G League will have selective offerings though, as they won’t look to bring in players who have already committed to colleges, and those players they do bring in, hoping to focus on players with high character, and a readiness to join a professional league.

Players who decide to accept the G League offer will be free to hire agents and profit off their likeness. The main goal of the G League is to help players accelerate their transition to the professional level, and benefit from NBA infrastructure. While there are still many concerns that are still to be addressed with the new program, the NBA is at least working towards giving players another avenue to the professional level.

“I’m out there in my first preseason game guarding Klay Thompson and Iggy (Andre Iguodala) and all those guys I’ve watched all through college dominate the NBA. The stuff they were doing, how fast they were moving, the speed of the game, that was my ‘welcome to the NBA’ moment. I’ll probably have another one, but for now that’s definitely the one.”

Former Ohio State forward Keita Bates-Diop via Adam Jardy, The Columbus Dispatch

Last night the Minnesota Timberwolves opened up their 2018-19 NBA campaign. Former Ohio State Buckeye Keita Bates-Diop was in uniform but didn’t see any time on the floor in Minnesota’s 112-108 loss to San Antonio. It has been a bit of a change from the last few years for Bates-Diop, as he isn’t the star on the team, and now has to fight for playing time. Bates-Diop does have some experience in that role though, since he had to earn his playing time when he first got to Ohio State.

Another change for Bates-Diop is he has more free time on his hands now that he is in the NBA. When he was at Ohio State, Bates-Diop had classes and studying to go along with all this basketball responsibilities, but in the NBA he usually has a morning practice and then nothing the rest of the day. While the schedule was weird for Bates-Diop at first, he is adjusting to it and enjoying it now.

Now what Bates-Diop is waiting for is his first official NBA paycheck. Bates-Diop was under the impression that players would start getting paid after getting drafted, but he hasn’t yet received his first paycheck from the league. At least now that he is in uniform and on the active roster, Bates-Diop should see his checks rolling in soon.

“It’s nothing different. Every year Minnesota is ranked in the Top 8, and often times ranked even higher. They’re three, we’re four right now. It’s going to be a couple of great games. They have the home crowd advantage playing in Riddle Arena, but it’s nothing this team hasn’t seen over the past two years.”

Ohio State women’s hockey coach Nadine Muzerall via Brian Nelson, The Lantern

Ohio State’s women’s hockey team will face their toughest test of the young season so far when they travel to Minnesota to take on the No. 3 Golden Gophers. The Buckeyes come into this weekend’s games brimming with confidence though, as they have not only won five out of six games to open up the season, but they also won both games they played at Minnesota last year.

Freshman goaltender Andrea Braendli will be thrown into the fire early in her career this weekend, as she’ll be trying to slow down a Minnesota offense that is averaging 4.33 goals per game, which is fourth in the country. At least Braendli has seen a few starts at goalie heading into the two games this weekend. Last Friday, in just her second career start, Braendli shutout Minnesota State, and followed the performance up by giving up just one goal on Saturday. Braendli’s performance was good enough to earn her WCHA Player of the Week honors.

Another young star the Buckeyes will need more strong play from is forward Emma Maltais. The sophomore led Ohio State in scoring last year, and hasn’t slowed down so far this year. Maltais has recorded 10 points in six games this season, and is currently tied for the NCAA scoring lead.

Ohio State and Minnesota will drop the puck at 8 p.m. on Friday night and finish up their weekend series with a 4 p.m. start on Saturday afternoon. After taking on the Golden Gophers, the Buckeyes will again be on the road next weekend, taking on St. Lawrence on Friday and Saturday.

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