Andrew Luck is staying at Stanford...

[Roy H.]

Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, the odds-on favorite to be the No. 1 pick in this spring's NFL draft, announced Thursday that he will stay in school and play his redshirt junior season. "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," Luck said in a statement. The school announced that Luck wouldn't be made available for comment.

I understand the desire to earn a degree and to enjoy life as a college student, but man...  I would take the money.

[wdleehi]

Maybe he heard something about the possible labor problem that is telling him to stay one more year.


Or he does not want to go to the Panthers.

[Fafnir]

I hope he's got a good insurance policy. I think its crazy to not take the sort of money a top 5 pick in the draft will earn even with a new CBA.

Hopefully it works out better for him than others.

[Rondo2287]

Dang, especially with his coach leaving the program true.  Im impressed that he really wants to get his degree, but ya, i would take the money

[greg683x]

it's got to be about the looming lockout.  he wouldnt be able to practice or do anything with his team for a year.  Yeah he could get injured, but Sam Bradford was injured the majority of his final year and he still went number 1.

the staying in college and getting your degree makes for a great feel good story, but there have been plenty of players who got their degree  while they were in the pros.  Vince Carter is one.  So I dont buy that.  If there was a lockout, he'd have more time to finish school anyway.

[Fan from VT]

I think it's about one of these:
-lockout uncertainty
-fun (BMOC is a once in a lifetime thing, so i hear)
-Carolina

I heard somewhere he's not hurting for money. So maybe he knows he would hate being in carolina, and rather than do the eli manning "pout and out" he's taking a chance that a more preferred team would draft him next year.

[Snakehead]

It has to be the teams he might end up on.  Wow I am surprised by this, especially since it seems like rookie contracts may be capped next season and not for this upcoming one.

He must really want that degree... I'd advise him to be a professional football player instead.

[PosImpos]

Smart choice.  Even if he's #1, it's impossible to say if he'll stick in the league.  Getting his degree ensures that he'll be able to have some sort of career regardless.  The NFL will still be there for him in another year, and in the meantime he can continue to win and improve his game at Stanford. 

The money will be there for him one way or another eventually, if he really is that kind of player.

[greg683x]

Smart choice.  Even if he's #1, it's impossible to say if he'll stick in the league.  Getting his degree ensures that he'll be able to have some sort of career regardless.  The NFL will still be there for him in another year, and in the meantime he can continue to win and improve his game at Stanford. 

The money will be there for him one way or another eventually, if he really is that kind of player.

I dont see how this is a smart choice.  The guy can get his degree while he's in the NFL, so if he doesnt stick in the league he'd be in the same position.  Only difference is he'd be 50 million dollars richer if he signs the contract.

I dont understand the logic in the, he's not hurting financially argument either.  Theres plenty of us not hurting financially out there, are you still going to turn down a 50 million dollar NFL contract??

The factors I see changing this kids future are negative factors.  Who's to say this kid doesnt take a helmet in the knee next year and he's never the same??  Who's to say that when/if Harbaugh leaves, Stanford doesnt hire a bonehead coach that tries to run an offense that completely ruins Lucks credibility.  The 2nd factor would only drop his draft status.  But if this kid has some kind of career threatening injury then he's gonna look like a complete DONKEY!

Yes, he can have a career ending injury in the NFL, but he'll have his NFL money and his degree.

[Cman]

I'd probably take the money, but it speaks the world of this guy that he values the Stanford education over the bucks.  

It is moves like this that help remind us all that we've got one life to live, and the meaning of life is not to accumulate as much money as possible, its to lead as fulfilling a life as possible.  And for Luck, this means getting his degree from Stanford.  Kudos to him.

[Fafnir]

Smart choice.  Even if he's #1, it's impossible to say if he'll stick in the league.  Getting his degree ensures that he'll be able to have some sort of career regardless.  The NFL will still be there for him in another year, and in the meantime he can continue to win and improve his game at Stanford. 

The money will be there for him one way or another eventually, if he really is that kind of player.

He can go back and get his degree at any time if he leaves early.

[Rondo2287]

Smart choice.  Even if he's #1, it's impossible to say if he'll stick in the league.  Getting his degree ensures that he'll be able to have some sort of career regardless.  The NFL will still be there for him in another year, and in the meantime he can continue to win and improve his game at Stanford. 

The money will be there for him one way or another eventually, if he really is that kind of player.

He can go back and get his degree at any time if he leaves early.

Exactly.  Ty Warren another first round pick, went back to Texas A&M this past summer and finished his degree and graduated.

[Redz]

My friend Matt's take. 

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/01/06/spiegel-andrew-luck-haters-please-get-over-yourselves/

[houlana]

ty warren got it for A&M, this guy is getting a degree from Stanford. he can make his NFL money next yr. but having a stanford diploma helps him get a nice job in case the NFL does not work out for any reason

[Donoghus]

I have no qualms with him coming back.   Being a student on a college campus with his contemporaries (people his age in that type of environment) is a once in a lifetime experience.  If he wants that for one more year, good for him. 

For his sake, I just hope he doesn't get hurt.