[Hat tip to Kevin Weakley for sending me the link to the article that inspired this blog.] The worst contract in American sports -- that's what Sports Illustrated magazine's Andy Staples called the National Letter of Intent, a document that commits a high school athlete to a scholarship from a particular university. Upon signing the Letter of Intent, that athlete forfeits one year of college eligibility in the event he or she fails to enroll in that school. In contrast, the school doesn't really have to honor the scholarship offer to the athlete. As Staples points out, Sure, the NLI claims to guarantee a scholarship, but that simply isn't true. That is contingent on the player being admitted to the school and on the football program staying below the 85-scholarship limit. A school can dump the player at any point between Signing Day and preseason camp, and he would have no recourse. This guarantee is no different than the one on a conference-approved financial aid form, but it costs the player something the financial aid agreement does not. This situation drew national attention when highly sought linebacker Roquan Smith verbally committed to UCLA in a ceremony televised on ESPN, but news broke revealing the primary recruiter who gave Smith his very first scholarship offer and cultivated a relationship with the player over three years would be leaving to take a coaching job in the NFL, working for the Atlanta Falcons. Had Smith signed the letter of intent and faxed it, he would have forfeited a year of eligibility unless UCLA granted him an unconditional release. … [Read more...]