College grad starting salaries

I used to think it was dumb to drop out early to turn pro. But not when your first two or three paychecks pay off your student loan package.

You can't take money and remain an amateur, but I wish there were a way to buy an annuity that could pay off star athletes -- who stayed in school, who were clearly good enough to go pro -- and got hurt and couldn't turn pro. Maybe a ratings board says someone drafted in the Xth round for the NHL (or NBA or MLB) would earn half the rookie salary cap and so if he had a career ending injury in college, he's entitled to that amount paid out over ten years. Or something like that.

From USCHO >>> PITTSBURGH — Boston University defenseman Ryan Whitney appears on the verge of foregoing his senior season and signing with the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins. Whitney, the fifth overall pick by the Penguins in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, has agreed in principle with the team on a three-year contract, according to a report in today's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, citing sources. Whitney still has time to join the team's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton AHL affiliate in time for its playoffs, which start this week. The newspaper says the deal is for the rookie salary cap of $1.185 million annually, plus a performance-related bonus package. Whitney, 21, blossomed this season at BU, despite the team's struggles. He led the Terriers in scoring with 25 points in 38 games, and was named All-Hockey East Honorable Mention.

I agreed with you up until you invoked the Penguins. If he signs, or if there was a theoretical stipend for staying in college, all the checks would bounce.

Part of the problem is that the pro teams don't want players to stay in college. Witness the Flyers, who signed Jean-Marc Pelletier after his sophomore year and then sent him to the QMJHL so he could develop with more playing time than he would have had in two more seasons at Cornell (one of which would have been platooning with Elliott).

That's just Bob Clarke's pro-Canadian, anti-anywhere else bias.

Personally, if I was getting 1.2 million to play more games that I would in college, I'd take it, too.

JH