Is High School Football Worth It?
In this article I explore whether high school football is worth it so you can make a decision for yourself.
Contents
At the time of writing, a select group of 319 football prospects are at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis showcasing their skills in front of NFL coaches, scouts, and general managers in hopes of proving themselves worthy of the next level.
That’s right, the NFL Draft Combine is underway. This means that many of these talented athletes are just weeks away from having their lives forever changed. They will become NFL draft picks who will earn generational wealth to the tune of millions of dollars.
There is also another group of people closely watching to see what happens over the next few months. In particular, well over 10 million viewers will tune in to this weekend’s combine and next month’s draft to see where these future stars will land.
This large group of viewers is highly likely to include young people and parents who are considering whether to jump into the football pipeline. Many are attempting to weight the pros and cons of vying for coveted roster spot in the NFL.
My Verdict: Football is Not Worth It
High school football is not worth it because the potential rewards from participating are not worth the heavy costs.
Of course, this is just my personal opinion. However, I’ve got the experience of playing football from middle school through to the Division I collegiate level and the scars to back up my belief.
Let’s dive into details and explore this topic from every angle.
Cost-Benefit Analysis to Determine if Football is Worth It
An age-old decision making tool used in business and economics is the cost-benefit analysis. A cost-benefit analysis is the process of analyzing the potential rewards of a course of action minus the costs of choosing that route.
I conducted this type of analysis when I decided to give up my scholarship at Temple University after one season. My own analysis concluded with me determining that football was not worth it.
I was called many bad names by people from my hometown for making this decision. Things like stupid, quitter, and girl-chaser (yes, seriously) are just a few. In any event, these good people were probably speaking from emotion and projecting rather than grounding their statements in real analysis.
I want you to avoid falling into this type of thinking trap.
It can be easy to get caught up in the emotional lure of potentially becoming a star and earning millions of dollars. Not weighing the costs of said option can prove detrimental in the long run.
Instead, I want to empower you with information that will help you decide if high school football is worth it to you. Let’s hop in.
The Costs of Playing Football
My inspiration for this article came about recently after a good friend sent me this article citing a Boston University study which found that 92% of former NFL players suffered from the traumatic brain injuries. The sample size was only 376, but those numbers are eye opening.
As such, I think this is as good a place as any to start our analysis.
Football Is Not Worth It Because of the Injuries
Injury Frequency
Surprisingly, football doesn’t appear to have the highest rate of reported injury. That title goes indisputably to basketball with football ranking somewhere between second and fourth in terms of frequency.
This makes sense given that basketball involves athletes moving and jumping in close proximity. Basketball is also a fast paced sport. And the basketball season has significantly more games than football which could lead to more wear. The NFL, for example, has 17 regular season games compared to 82 games in the NBA.
Brain Injuries
How much would I have to pay you to get you to run into a wall with your head at full speed?
I’m not sure many people would take me up on the offer, but what if I sweetened the deal by offering to wrap your head and shoulder in protective equipment?
I admit that framing things in this manner makes it all sound a bit crazy. Yet, this is exactly what happens in the game of football. In essence, football is built around people bashing into each other head first at high rates of speed.
BU scientists say "repetitive head impacts" are believed to be the top risk factor for CTE, which is a degenerative brain disease.
I remember the good ol’ days when getting a concussion while playing football was seen as a good thing . It was a right of passage. Overall, the game has made positive strides in the recognition and handling of brain injuries.
In light of these developments, I still argue that there is a limit to how much safer the game can become. The risks are too high when we consider that concussions can lead to decades of impaired mental function.
Finally, another key point to consider is the fact that football brain injuries can result in the rare fatality. Data from the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research shows that there were 4 football related fatalities in 2021. It so happens that all stemmed from traumatic brain injuries.
Football is Not Worth It Because of the Extremely Low Odds of Making It
I know that many athletes take up football in hopes of “making it to the league” and being a star. Being inspired to achieve a goal is wonderful. It’s also important to have realistic expectations so we can avoid disappointment.
In sum, the odds of being one of the million-plus highschoolers to make it to college is a paltry 7.3%. I am proud to know that I was one of the lucky few to even make it to the collegiate level. But I wonder if my spot could have gone to someone who would have appreciated it more.
As we can see, the odds of making it to college are already slim. They become even more discouraging considering that there is a 1.6% chance of a collegiate athlete becoming a pro.
The talent/skill gap between the top players and everyone else is vast. Add to this the fact that there are just so few slots on each NFL roster and you can see why the odds are so long.
Seeing these stats only reinforce my opinion that high school football is not worth the investment.
#NFL cuts weekend is always a good reminder of these numbers... pic.twitter.com/lIGgbkxNpq
— Scott Carter (@GatorsScott) September 7, 2015
Football is Not Worth It Because the Opportunity Costs Are Too High
I first introduced the concept of opportunity costs in my article discussing the costs of bad health. Ironically, this is a great companion article to read for anyone considering football – but I digress.
Opportunity costs simply represent the benefit or value of an opportunity or course of action that is given up when you choose a certain other course of action. In short, the opportunity costs of playing football would be all of the other things one would give up to do so.
I didn’t know it at the time, but I was conducting an opportunity cost analysis when I decided to quit football back in 2007.
I realized then that my odds of making it to the NFL were next to none. Being a collegiate football player required a tremendous commitment in terms of time and attention. Having limited time meant that other important things would have to be sacrificed in order to meet this huge commitment.
Specifically, education was the thing that had to take a back seat in this scenario.
Student-Athletes Aren’t Students
This is the dirty little secret that many people know, but few talk enough about.
To put it simply, succeeding as a major football player means that the athlete is almost certainly not succeeding as a student.
I was a 19 year old college freshman coming off my first year of collegiate football. I started 1 game that year and played in several others. One would think that I would be elated to be in this position. In reality, all I could think about was how I may have been set up to fail.
It turns out that I’m not the only player to realize this. Current NFL quarterback Josh Rosen took to this issue back when he was a top prospect at UCLA. Let’s hear from him on the matter.
I love school, but it's hard. It's cool because we're learning more applicable stuff in my major (Economics)—not just the prerequisite stuff that's designed to filter out people. But football really dents my ability to take some classes that I need. There are a bunch of classes that are only offered one time. There was a class this spring I had to take, but there was a conflict with spring football, so ...
Look, football and school don't go together. They just don't. Trying to do both is like trying to do two full-time jobs. There are guys who have no business being in school, but they're here because this is the path to the NFL. There's no other way.
Human beings don't belong in school with our schedules. No one in their right mind should have a football player's schedule, and go to school.
What this all means is that collegiate football players are asked to make a deal in which they sacrifice time, energy, and their bodies in return for academic scholarships that don’t actually deliver on the academic portion.
I knew something was off with this deal when they limited me to choosing between 6 majors before the start of my first semester. No concern was given to my long term career aspirations or life plans.
Additionally, none of these majors seemed to promise significant financial returns on investment post graduation. In short, I couldn’t see how I could use an African American Studies degree to put food on the table later on.
They get a free education in return for sacrificing their time and bodies to bring in fans, as well as merchandising money. But if the "education" part of that deal is a sham, or at least impossible to attain even if college football players make a decent effort to study and play, then that deal is a fraudulent one.
The Costs of A Free Education
People called me stupid for quitting football, but time has proven me to be smart for getting out before permanent damage was done to my ability to succeed in real life.
I was wise for having the wherewithal to see that extremely low odds of advancing also combined with high injury risk and low academic prospects. This scenario made for potentially disastrous outcomes to my long term success as a normal person who would inevitably have to find my way in the world.
Even so, I decided to quit early into my collegiate career yet can still attest to how difficult it is to make the transition from student-athlete to just “student”.
Permanently-sidelined athletes have described their grief as feeling as though a part of them has died. Sports psychologists refer to this as “losing the athletic identity”. One of the hardest parts of processing the loss of ability to compete in sport is feeling like you don’t know who you are without your sport.
People criticized me for making my choice, but had no idea the magnitude of struggle involved in losing my identity as an athlete. I certainly had a few weeks or months worth of dark days before I was able to pull myself up and push forward. Unfortunately, I personally know other guys who never fully made that transition even into their 30s.
The Benefits of Playing Football
The question of whether high school football is worth it is a highly personal one. The potential benefits of playing football are numerous, but it is up to you to decide what those are for yourself.
I don’t partake in the game as a fan much anymore, but I do look fondly at my time spent as an athlete. Football was fun, battling it out on the gridiron with my pals was enriching. I just wish that the costs weren’t so heavy.
Again, it’s up to you to decide what is best for you. I suggest that you spend time accurately assessing the costs of choosing football against the potential benefits. This will enable you to make a wisest choice for how you spend your precious time.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with suiting up and taking the field. Just ensure you won’t regret your decision regardless of the route you choose.
I’d Love to Hear From You!
What are your thoughts on whether football is worth it?
I’d love to hear from you if you are a former or current athlete. Or perhaps you are a parent who has had to decide on whether your kids can play. Let me know what else could be added to the football cost-benefit analysis to strengthen the process!