In week one of the college football season, one could speculate that Sam Bradford could have had second thoughts about returning to Oklahoma after last season's excellence. I've often thought what a player gains when he comes back after peaked stock. After all, it's hard to imagine whether Bradford could do anything but hurt himself, no pun intended, if he returned.

 

I go back to Vince Young's dream season when he won the national championship and dazzled everyone in his second consecutive stand-out Rose Bowl performance. Young's return could only open the door for scrutiny about his throwing motion, ability to read defenses, etc. Young decided to bolt to the NFL and get paid to be scrutinized.

 

Bradford, like Tim Tebow, decided to return to college to chase a national championship. Bradford suffered a second injury to his throwing shoulder on Saturday, and Tebow's performance and concussion has done nothing to help his draft position.

 

In Bradford's case, you could make an argument for his return being a total failure. Not only has he missed more games than he's played, but his team's BCS hopes are all but dead. Bradford's decision can be measured in dollar signs, because it looks as if he may have cost himself some money.

 

For fans who love to say that players should return to school for the benefit of the school or fans, this season may have a lasting impression on elite players who face this decision in the future. This is why I believe this decision is strictly a business decision. Sam Bradford made a bad business decision. He's a smart kid and he's going to graduate regardless. Going back to play football doesn't dictate that.

 

There are lots of examples of students who decided to go back to school for their senior seasons. One of the more famous cases was Peyton Manning.

 

While at Tennessee, Manning decided to return for a national championship as well as a Heisman Trophy. While Manning didn't get injured or damage himself physically, he didn't win a national championship or the Heisman. He almost cost himself the number one pick because of the play of Ryan Leaf. We all know how that ended, but Manning put himself in that situation by not going while his stock was as high as it was ever going to get.

 

Division I college sports has become a business. Don't fool yourself. You may want to believe it's still innocent and you may hate to think of it as a business, but it's a billion dollar industry. It's more profitable than the professional leagues because there's zero payroll for the players. Guys like Bradford and Tebow go out and play their hearts out and the schools and the NCAA profit financially from it. Yeah, the schools give them $100,000 to go to school, but it's worth it for the return on the investment.

 

Players returning to school should not be matters of the heart. Mark Sanchez upset Pete Carroll when he decided to enter the NFL Draft. Some echoed Carroll's thoughts by saying Sanchez's lack of experience would cause him to struggle in the NFL. Sanchez saw it different. He saw his situation as being as good as it was going to get. USC would have to win a national championship for Sanchez to be hotter. There was no reason for him to return to fight for attention with the likes of Bradford, Tebow, Colt McCoy and the likes of any "Johnny Come Lately."

 

It remains to be seen whether or not the injuries to Bradford and even Tebow cost them anything. Let's just consider that it's not about reality when it comes to the financial investments that professional teams are going to make with these guys, it's about perception.

 

Rob Long