NBA Draft Eligibility: Cashing In

California law schools and undergraduate programs are increasing tuition in response to the budget crisis, which is creating a hardship for many potential students.  Still, some high school student athletes with scholarship offers are considering avoiding college altogether.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) requires potential players entering the draft be at least one year removed from their high school graduation.  The league instituted this rule in response to the increasing number of recent high school graduates entering the draft.  Still, the NBA provides the opportunity of million dollar salaries, while its traditional alternative, college basketball, prohibits players from receiving any salary. 

Brandon Jennings, a high school basketball phenom and 2008 high school graduate, therefore, spent the last year playing professional basketball in Europe, where players can receive a salary without an age requirement.  Jeremy Tyler, a current high school basketball star scheduled to graduate high school in 2010, likewise plans to spend his first year of college eligibility playing professionally in Europe.  Tyler, however, also plans to forgo his senior year of high school, which will allow him to play in Europe for two years before entering the NBA draft. 

This new trend of playing in Europe provides American athletes with a lucrative temporary alternative to the NBA.  It permits them to play professionally at nearly any age and bypass the unpaid college basketball system.  Representative Steve Cohen from Tennessee, therefore, sent letters to the NBA requesting the league eliminate the rule. 

The NBA remains satisfied with the eligibility rule, so continued efforts by Cohen and others could lead to a potential lawsuit.  Meanwhile, due to the poor economy, many law firms are requiring recent law school graduates to either defer their salary or their previously agreed upon employment for up to eighteen months.  If the court decides the matter, the attorneys fighting for the players’ rights to earn an NBA salary without restriction, may, therefore, ironically be working without pay.