2 answers
Ryan’s Answer
Andy,
I noticed no one has taken a shot at this question and I can guess why. The numbers are not pretty. I know very little about football - but I know statistics. Take a deep breath and lets look at this for a few minutes:
From 2013 NFL statistics:
310,465 High School seniors played Football - of these - 20,042 HS seniors will play college football or about a chance of 6.5%. That's just getting to play on the gridiron at the collegiate level. Now lets look forward.
At year four of college there are 15,588 seniors playing football and from these (yes some juniors might get pulled) 350 get scouted and invited to the combine. From the combine - 256 were drafted. This means you have about a 1 in 100 chance (1.6%) of getting on a team.
Thus in order to make it from HS freshman to getting drafted, you have about a 0.024% chance to make it to the NFL. The average career length varies. WSJ puts the 2008 average at 5 years with it decreasing to 2.6 by 2016, with the NFL claiming 3.3 years average career life. 2018 saw the median salary of NFL players at $860,000. That's before taxes. Meaning you would take home $542k per year. Now lets take a little leap and say you would earn this for about three years. So, your take home is about $1.6 million (assuming you saved everything).
Don't take my word for it:
https://operations.nfl.com/the-players/getting-into-the-game/
What am I saying? - I'm saying you have a small chance of making it. And even if you do, you won't make enough to retire. I'm sure you are an excellent player and if you want to go for it, give it all you can - but don't commit to football to the point you begin to sacrifice the chance at learning - an education. Don't play the lottery with your future.
Keith’s Answer
"What is more important for your future?" When faced with hanging with friends or simply lounging on the couch, ask yourself whether you are getting better. The reality is there will always be someone ready to take your spot. If you are not training right now, I can bet they are! So, your dedication to the sport/craft is essential to getting the most out of your potential . If you do that consistently, you will find opportunities for you will begin to open up.
What are you willing to sacrifice to make it?