PFT: Bolt can't be signed as free agent

[WoodysGirl]

for the curious....
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BOLT CAN’T BE SIGNED AS A FREE AGENT
Posted by Mike Florio on August 22, 2008, 2:25 p.m.

There are rumors on the Internet of certain teams having an interest in Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who won the gold medal in both the 100-meter and 200-meter races in Beijing. Though we don’t yet regard the rumors as sufficiently reliable to post here (yes, even we have standards), we decided to find out what the procedure would be for bagging Bolt, if a team were intrigued by his six-foot, five-inch frame and his record-setting speed.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello tells us that no team could simply sign him to a contract and wheel him out for the 2008 season. Bolt first would have to be declared eligible for the draft, enter the draft, and not be drafted before he’d become a free agent.

“If an individual calls us and wants to know if he is eligible for the draft, we ask him a series of questions before we give him an answer,” Aiello said by e-mail.

“When did he graduate from high school? Did he attend college? Have Usain give us a call.”

Bottom line — to the extent that one or more teams have dispatched scouts to China for the purposes of possibly luring Bolt to play pro football, no team can sign him to a contract until every team has had a crack at him in the draft.

That said, eligibility shouldn’t be a problem. He’s 22 years old, and since the primary requirement (thanks to Maurice Clarett) that three years pass after the graduation of his high school class before he can enter the draft, Bolt should easily be eligible in 2009, if he wants to be.

Then again, we don’t know when Bolt graduated from high school, or if he even attended. Indeed, the term “high” school in Jamaica might have an entirely different meaning.

 

[DaBoys4Life]

Then again, we don’t know when Bolt graduated from high school, or if he even attended. Indeed, the term “high” school in Jamaica might have an entirely different meaning.

 

[dest]

Why would he have to go throught the draft? Doesn't the NFL allow teams to have open tryouts and "Walk ons"?

 

[DaBoys4Life]

Why would he have to go throught the draft? Doesn't the NFL allow teams to have open tryouts and "Walk ons"?

I don't think so. Like the article said you have to apply or w.e. for the draft or declare yourself draft eligible and then once that happens you become a free agent. I think it's different when its a street free agent but they were in the NFL at one point so I don't think there's open try outs.

 

[Doomsday101]

I think Bolt has a chance to make bigger money in track through endorsements as a stud than trying to play a sport he has never played before. I seriously doubt he would be interested but hey Dallas went ahead and drafted Carl Lewis. :laugh2:

 

[bbgun]

I'm still available. And all my paperwork/documents are in order.

 

[Yeagermeister]

I'm still available. And all my paperwork/documents are in order.

Can you run a 4.58?

 

[Brandon]

The best athlete in the Olympics will soon be paid to race horses, racecars, jets and cheetahs. I can see it now.

 

[bbgun]

Can you run a 4.58?

Did it yesterday when I heard the bell on the ice cream truck.

 

[Yeagermeister]

Did it yesterday when I heard the bell on the ice cream truck.

Yeah but the truck runs a 4.2 :laugh2:

 

[NEFAN1961]

Why would he have to go throught the draft? Doesn't the NFL allow teams to have open tryouts and "Walk ons"?

Dest...there must have been a rule change (related to collective bargaining?) which disallows "walk ons"...I know that during the 60s both Buffalo and Cleveland held open tryouts and a casual friend of mine wound up on the Pats after writing to them requesting a chance to work out with the team...(Yeah, I know,I'm really, really old...)

 

[WoodysGirl]

BOLT CASE COMPLICATED, FOR NOW

Posted by Mike Florio on August 22, 2008, 5:14 p.m.

As a follow-up to our earlier post regarding the procedures that would apply if Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt wants to play in the NFL, we’ve developed via our discussions with the league office a strong sense that Bolt’s upbringing in another country and his absence from a United States college makes his case a bit more complicated than it would be if he were an American track star who decided to give football a try.

Several readers pointed out in response to our prior item that men like Renaldo Nehemiah and Vince Papale signed with NFL teams without entering the draft. The difference, however, seems to be that persons who finish four years of college automatically are “in” the draft pool. And if they’re not drafted, they become free agents.

For example, former Notre Dame receiver and current Cubs pitcher Jeff Samardzija had no desire to play in the NFL, and so he never “applied” for the draft. But once the draft came and went after he ended his career in college football, he became a free agent. He can sign with any team at any time.

As to Bolt, it’s not clear whether he graduated from high school, when he graduated from high school, and whether he has finished four years of college. At a certain point, Bolt would be no different than Papale, who was a “walk-on” years after finishing college. Given that Bolt is only 22, the league would first have to look into whether he must go through the draft.

The other problem is that, although NFL spokesman Greg Aiello is always courteous and kind and cooperative, he prefers fact to hypothesis.

“There is a theoretical point at which our office would have to make an eligiblity decision on anyone, including you,” Aiello told us. “If we need to determine his eligibility, we will do so.”

Hmmm. That gives me an idea. I actually used to be pretty fast. And I can still catch better than Troy Williamson. Maybe I’ll ask for a try out.
What’s the worst that could happen?

UPDATE: In the future, guys like Bolt might end up entering the NFL the more conventional way; one NCAA coach says he intends to begin recruiting in Jamaica.