Becoming a professional football player requires stamina, strength and ambition. What it does not require is a formal education. While NFL athletes do not specifically go to school to become professional football players, NFL and NCAA requirements include those related to education.

NFL Requirements

To be drafted into the NFL, a player must be three years out of high school. That means a player must at least have a high school diploma before entering the NFL. The NFL also wants players who have a little maturity and experience under their belts, and requires players to spend time playing college football.

Players wanting to enter the NFL draft must use all of their college eligibility before the next college football season starts. Typically, that means they complete four years of college and graduate with a degree of their choosing. Those who have not yet graduated can petition the NFL to enter the draft early. These players may never complete their degrees or they may later return to graduate.

NCAA Requirements

To play college football, a player must comply with the academic requirements established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). So while the NFL does not have any set education requirements, the NCAA essentially establishes what education is needed to become a football player.

To be eligible to play sports in the first year of a Division I or II school, a student must graduate high school with established units of the following classes completed:

English



Math



Science



Social Science



Foreign language, comparative religion or philosophy



Students must learn at least a 2.2 GPA in these courses and have an acceptable SAT or ACT score.

High school students wanting to enter a Division III college must meet the admissions standards set by the school.

Once in college, a student athlete must also abide by the NCAA’s requirements in order to play sports. The NCAA prioritizes education and helps student athletes take the steps needed to get a degree. NCAA establishes standards for a minimum GPA, credit hours and percentage-of-degree requirements. For example, athletes at a Division I school must have 60 percent of their degree requirements met and at least a 2.0 GPA before their fourth year of college.

More than eight in 10 student athletes at Division I schools earn their bachelor’s degrees. Since 2004, more than 15,000 former Division I athletes returned to finish their degrees.

Value of Education Post-NFL

Since the average NFL career only lasts about three years, there is much value to a football player earning a degree while they have a chance. This is especially valuable since nearly 80 percent of players are bankrupt within three years of retirement. With a degree and some work experience behind them, football players can enter another career and generate a salary, even after their time as a professional athlete ends.

The NCAA has a degree-completion program to help make this happen, and many schools provide scholarships to help former athletes graduate. A few colleges even work with NFL players during the offseason to help them earn MBAs. In 2016, more than 180 active NFL players took graduate or undergraduate classes during the offseason, and 31 completed their degrees. The NFL Players Association can help offset the cost of tuition to make it more affordable for athletes to return to school.

Many former athletes want to go into fields related to football, such as an agent or financial advisor. Both registered player financial advisors and agents are regulated by the NFL Players Association, and require at least a bachelor’s degree.