ESPN Say's Newton To Enter Draft

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by Paintrain

Yet another reason to avoid Locker like the plague.. As much as I dislike PFT, they are quoting a reliable source..

Baseball could be an option for Jake Locker | ProFootballTalk

I saw that to. Can someone explain the $250,000 signing bonus? I can't imagine the NCAA would allow a player to sign a pro contract for baseball and then turn around and play college football. Plus it's not like he's completely disconnected from the Angels, going so far as to travel to Arizona for workouts with the Angels Minor League affiliates.

Angels general manager Tony Reagins said Locker has lived up to his obligations under the contract, which include traveling to Arizona periodically to work out at the team's minor league facility.

Either way I guess this is part of the reason that Locker was comfortable enough to pass up the $40 or $50 million he would have made in the draft was because he had baseball as a fallback option. Obviously the difference in pay is huge for now but the fact that he had options besides football had to be a contributing factor.

Still I wouldn't say it's a reason to avoid Locker. Though I will admit he makes me very nervous as a pro prospect (mainly due to his accuracy issues) he's still good enough to make me jump on the bandwagon should we take him on draft day.

Honestly though if I was talented enough to play both pro baseball and football I would easily choose baseball, despite the fact that my love for football is exponentially higher. Less wear and tear on the body and guaranteed contracts are a much better deal then contracts that are only 25%-35% guaranteed. Not to mention the horror stories about NFL veterans that date back as recently as the Dave Duerson tragedy.