New Bill Could Crush Army Star's NFL Dreams: 'Produce Warfighters, Not Professional Athletes'
In 2023, star linebacker Andre Carter II could be a first-round NFL Draft pick with a multi-million dollar contract. Or he could be an active duty Army soldier. But it's not up to him.
The 6-foot-7, 260-pound Army Black Knights star is Mel Kiper's 22-ranked player for the upcoming draft. That’s a pretty impressive feat considering the school hasn’t had a first-round pick since 1947 and has had only two players drafted since 1969.
Enter buzzkill Congressman Mike Gallagher from Wisconsin. Gallagher introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would require athletes at military academies to fulfill their service obligation before pursuing professional sports.
That obligation is, according to Army, five years of active duty and three years in the individual ready reserve.
"U.S. military service academies exist to produce warfighters,” Gallagher said, "not professional athletes.”
Army Linebacker Andre Carter II is Mel Kiper's 22-ranked player in the 2023 NFL Draft. (Photo by Edward Diller/Getty Images)
The Bill Is Headed To Joe Biden’s Desk
As of now, military academy athletes have the ability to apply for a waiver to delay their active service requirement and immediately pursue a career in sports. Former President Donald Trump pushed this rule through in 2019.
However, the rule could be revoked as early as next week... along with Carter’s chances of going pro.
"Here's the thing that's so painful,” Carter’s mother Melissa said. "You guide your son to do the right things because it's right. And it's really disappointing that it's not reciprocated. This has been his goal since childhood, to go into the NFL. Every step of the way, that was on track, until we saw this article.”
Melissa said this change could force her son to choose between his two biggest goals: graduating from the United States Military Academy and playing professional football.
All Junior Year Cadets Must “Affirm” With The School
This means they agree both to serve after graduation and to pay back tuition costs if they don’t graduate. If Carter reneged on his agreement, it would mean throwing away all the work he’s already done and having a hefty financial debt to repay.
"He's so upset," his father Andre said. "He was literally, visually upset because of the uncertainty. When you're in the military, everything is precise. To have something at the eleventh hour kind of thrown out there when you are so used to having a regiment; he's in a fog about the whole thing.”
After some backlash, the dream-crushing politician who introduced the amendment redeemed himself slightly. Congressman Gallagher says if the bill is signed, he will seek a legacy exception that would apply to Carter and other current athletes at service academies.
Carter’s career depends on it.