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Colleges cut the youth pipeline
Where profit goes
In every American sport that generates revenue at the professional level, including hockey, football, basketball, and baseball, little of the massive profit from endless sponsorship and broadcast deals makes it down to the youth level. The US university system is also the dream destination for top athletes. Colleges offer scholarships, stipends, and, as rules on amateurism relax, some ways to make money, but they do not invest in youth programs.
Baseball's path
Baseball shows how it works. It is profitable at the top, yet to keep up with peers a kid cannot just play for a middle school or high school team and needs travel baseball. A high-level high school player can be drafted directly into Major League Baseball and receive a multi-million dollar signing bonus at 18, and players who are less promising still have the college scholarship to aim for.
A missing pipeline
Without a pipeline, opening doors to higher-level play falls increasingly to the drive of kids and the pocketbooks of their parents. In a development pipeline, the highest levels would water the grassroots with access to the game, coaches, and more training for those who show the most promise.
How did college sports' amateur rules change?
The NCAA was founded in 1906 and for decades barred athletes from being paid beyond the cost of attending school. In 2021 the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in NCAA v. Alston that the NCAA could not limit certain education-related benefits for athletes. That July, the NCAA adopted an interim policy allowing athletes to earn money from their name, image, and likeness. Before that, an athlete who accepted such payments could lose eligibility.
How can a high schooler be drafted into baseball?
The Major League Baseball draft is open to high school players who have not yet attended college, to college juniors and seniors, and to junior college players. A high schooler who is drafted can sign with the team or decline and enroll in college. A player who goes to a four-year college is not eligible again until after his junior year or when he turns 21. Players drafted high usually receive larger signing bonuses than those chosen later.
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