Would Eddie Lacy Have Been A Packer With The New NCAA Rules?
The NCAA recently made a ruling that allows student athletes to get more educational benefits... and endorsement deals. To understand the impact this will have on the future, we only need to look at what could have happened in the past.
By BruceIrons
Last week, I wrote about the impact of NCAA ruling that allows, among other things, college players to get endorsement deals (NCAA Ruling - The Rich Get Richer).
There's already a ton of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals being announced from Spencer Rattler's Raising Cane's endorsement deal to Graham Mertz's $30 t-shirts.
What comes next?
We don't know, but it's not hard to believe that huge shift in college athletic compensation will eventually have an impact on the pro game as well.
What if making it to the pros is no longer the goal of student athletes?
What if college football just becomes a place to build a platform for other ventures?
It seems far-fetched, but that's just because it's been the only option... until now.
The first person that came to mind for me when I thought of this new world was Eddie Lacy.
In the pre-draft process, he was downgraded because he didn't seem to have a love for the game. The talent was undeniable, but many wondered how long his career would last.
He won Rookie of the Year honors with the Packers in 2012 and carried the team in 2013 when Aaron Rodgers was injured.
After that, conditioning became an issue and all those questions about dedication re-emerged. After two more lackluster seasons, he left Green Bay to sign a one-year deal with Seattle, where he had 179 yards and 0 touchdowns, ending his career.
Now what does he do?
He posts a lot of clips of playing video games. He eats a lot of "China Food."
In his short career, he made over $7M - enough money to live off for the rest of his life. Now he gets to do the things he enjoys and I'm very happy for him.
It would appear the questions of dedication to the game were warranted, though. Maybe he did just go pro for the money.
What if he had another option? Would he have still chosen to go pro?
He was a big name in college. He could have made a lot of money off his likeness.
Alabama is the preeminent college football program in the country. Eddie Lacy was a star for them and he won 3 NCAA BCS championships in his time there.
What if he used his popularity on college sports's biggest stage to carve our some niche endorsement deals?
Sure, Nike or Under Armor might have given him a contract, but what about doing ads for Chinese Restaurants? The memes alone would make those endorsements a gold mine. Maybe he could have used his love of video games to start a Twitch stream in college. The highest-paid Twitch streamers are making over $100k per month. That's over $1M per year, which is more than Eddie Lacy made per year from his contract with the Packers.
And you don't have to watch your weight.
If the Supreme Court had ruled that college athletes could get endorsement deals before 2012, Eddie Lacy could have started some solid income streams and not felt like he needed to play football - which he may have never truly loved - simply for the money.
With steady income and a savings account buffeted by endorsements, he may have never entered the NFL.
The Packers would have missed out on a rookie of the year and their 2013 savior. They may not have made the 2014 NFCCG! How different would Packer lore be without Eddie Lacy?
How different will Packer lore be in the future if the next Eddie Lacy decides to not enter the NFL?
PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHEESEHEAD NATION WEEKLY NEWSLETTER HERE.
__________________________
Bruce Irons has played, coached, and studied football for decades. Best-selling author of books such as A Fan's Guide To Understanding The NFL Draft, A Fan's Guide To Understanding The NFL Salary Cap, and A Fan's Guide To NFL Free Agency Hits And Misses, Bruce contributes to CheeseHeadTV and PackersForTheWin.com.
Follow Bruce Irons on Twitter at @BruceIronsNFL.
__________________________
Comments (20)
PatrickGB
July 11, 2021 at 11:05 am
Perhaps he would have done both. The careers of RB’s are notoriously short and maybe he knew that and never really cared to slavishly work on his NFL career long term and followed his heart instead.
wildbill
July 12, 2021 at 01:32 am
More like he followed his stomach.. not his heart
PhantomII
July 11, 2021 at 11:49 am
Pretty sure Packers were told this guy needs to be monitored closely. I'm not sure how tough the rookie contract was written about playing weight, etc. MM was always way too lax on this guy. Too bad, he had a couple good years and had potential for a nice career
I always think of Daniels saying he was a couple cheeseburgers away from putting his hand in the ground next to me...LOL
Yet another player kept too long. I would think if a player in college felt like the article said, they wouldn't amount to much in the NFL anyway.
You have to be driven to greatness.
Archie
July 11, 2021 at 11:49 am
MM sent EL back on the field with a very compromised ankle. His career was all downhill after that. Criminal.
Stroh
July 11, 2021 at 06:36 pm
Lacy's problems started and ended with his lack of discipline and weight mgmt! NOTHING Else!
The_Justicar
July 11, 2021 at 12:11 pm
Note: while EL did make 7 million with the packers and didn’t have income from playing video games and eating Chinese food in college, at Bama all star recruits get née dodge chargers and tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars under the table to play at Bama. 😀
Johnblood27
July 11, 2021 at 12:47 pm
No way man! I can't believe that is true!
rolls eyes...
TarynsEyes
July 11, 2021 at 03:22 pm
I remember a breakfast interview with Lacy as a rookie with Lacy sitting at the table with a huge steak, a rack of ribs, pancakes, bacon in front of him bragging about how he loves food. That should have been a red flag not to be ignored, as the team obviously did. Many here said he just had an appetite equal to his performance. The lies and beliefs some tell themselves to maintain denial of what was in front of them. in a bulking, burgeoning manner. Yes, I was not a Lacy fan.
10ve 💚
July 12, 2021 at 12:31 pm
Hi TarynsEyes, I don't disagree with you about Eddie Lacy.
However, I'm curious to know if you could name 5 Packers whom you are a fan of...
TarynsEyes
July 12, 2021 at 09:49 pm
I'm all about the team. I like them all as long as they play to ability and the team wins. Personal achievements are secondary, with being the Champion first and foremost. It keeps me from being a blind optimist.
Stroh
July 11, 2021 at 06:41 pm
Lacy was the last person I thought of! He couldn't control himself and his weight. Imagine what Charles Woodson could have done. Only defensive player to win the Heisman and he's given tens of millions to causes!
stockholder
July 11, 2021 at 06:43 pm
Wrong- Lacy had a Love for the Game. It was his Asthma that was the problem.
Stroh
July 11, 2021 at 08:28 pm
That's laughable! Ahman Green had asthma. It didn't stop him from becoming the Packers All Time leading rusher! I have asthma, it doesn't stop me from being in great shape or anything athletic! You're a fool.
Feel free to explain how asthma caused Lacy to be fat and lazy.
stockholder
July 11, 2021 at 08:49 pm
My brother has asthma. Try some rag weed instead.
Stroh
July 11, 2021 at 10:16 pm
Asthma is very easy to control with meds. Asthma had absolutely NOTHING to do with his short career! He had a complete lack of discipline to eat right and maintain his weight! It's horseshit to use Asthma as an excuse for him! You simply DO NOT KNOW a thing about it!
stockholder
July 12, 2021 at 07:22 am
Had you watched the draft.!!!! They said that Lacy had Asthma, and was going to fall because of it.!!! He Did. Not his Love for the game. !!! His ASTHMA was made public at that time.!!! Try Googling Lacy: you'll see his asthma had a " lot" to do with his games, and a playoff. After they traded him. He said it wouldn't be a problem. Per meds! But everyone then knew the weight was. If you've every seen a inhaler used. Lacy's lungs needed a time out. The meds have replaced inhalers now. Your put downs are so childish. Please take your head out of your ass.
Stroh
July 12, 2021 at 11:16 am
So he had asthma! Who cares, it very controllable w/ meds. It didn't stop Ahman Green did it?! There are also oral meds he can take instead of inhalers! I've been on just about every asthma med there is. You find what works and you use it regularly as directed and its controlled. His being over weight and having no discipline caused his problems!
Your telling an someone who has asthma and has ionformed himself on the subject that you think you know better?! Your just ignorant! PLAIN AND SIMPLE!!
Pack88
July 11, 2021 at 08:43 pm
I don't know if anyone can truly speculate about what motivated or didn't motivate Eddie Lacy but I really enjoyed watching him the 1st three seasons! It is also easily demonstrated that the average Power back has a productive career of about 66 games. Eddie didn't last that long for the reason's that kill many careers- injuries and appetites' (it Eddies case that is literal) but how many guys like Freeman lasted only 3 seasons before injuries robbed him of his skills or Johnny Jolly! Its a tough game and not everybody wants it bad enough. How many of us would want it bad enough- I don't know if I would
MarkinMadison
July 12, 2021 at 09:46 am
The Packers probably would have ended up with Christine Michael sooner than we did. Michael had three unremarkable seasons in Seattle. He ended up with the Packers for one year where he ran it for over 500 yards. That one year was about half of his career total, so the Packers had him at his peak.
Some poster here (I honestly forget who) was absolutely gaga over Christine Michael. He was big and strong (220 lbs., 27 bench press reps) with average speed (4.54 40). Ultimately he petered out of the NFL with around 1080 yards to his name after 5 seasons with three teams.
Mumarek400
July 14, 2021 at 09:59 am
And how long until players now choose schools based solely on market size? Seems a huge risk for Midwest schools like Madison. There isn't a locked in franchise/union/contract model like the pro sports have.