The ruling concluded that the NFL rule prohibiting players from being drafted until they have been out of high school for three years violates antitrust laws because the policy excludes all players in Clarett's position from selling their services to the only viable buyer.
The NFL has announced they plan to appeal the judge's decision.
Clarett sued the NFL in late September after being suspended from Ohio State for a number of issues, including violating NCAA bylaws and lying to investigators about the value of items stolen from a car he was using. The university has since agreed to allow Clarett to rejoin the team in off-season workouts, but he has declined the offer until he is reinstated by the NCAA.
Now that Clarett has been ruled draft eligible, the focus turns toward whether he will actually enter the draft or return to Ohio State for another season. In the lawsuit, his attorney's claimed he would be a top pick if he were allowed in the draft in 2004, but most likely, he is no more than a second or third-round pick... possibly later.
He appears to have all the physical tools, but teams may tend to shy away from him on draft day for several reasons.
More and more these days, NFL teams are taking a long look at a player's character before risking a high pick on him only to have him turn into a cancerous sideline lunatic that becomes more of a distraction than he's worth. Teams are certainly going to take a real hard look at the Buckeye halfback's off-field issues.
NFL teams are also going to consider the fact that he has not even played a full season at the college level yet, and he has been out of the game for a full year. A top pick used on Clarett would be a huge gamble at this point.
The results of this case also affect the status of Pittsburgh wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. The sophomore phenom has petitioned the NFL for early entry as well, and it is widely believed that the NFL was prepared to allow him in because of special circumstances surrounding his high school graduation. But it appears, with this ruling, that this is not a decision the NFL will have to make.
Fitzgerald is projected as a top-five pick overall in the 2004 NFL Draft, and has a chance to be the No. 1 pick overall.
The ruling also opens the door for any number of young players to enter the NFL, including those wanting to jump directly from high school to the NFL, although the market demand for teenage players is not likely to be high. Because of the physical demands, and the fact that a team would have to deal with free agency by the time they develop a player directly out of high school, it's not likely we'll see any drafted in the early rounds anytime soon.
NFL Draft Discussions by Team
| • Arizona | • Dallas | • Miami | • Pittsburgh |
| • Atlanta | • Denver | • Minnesota | • San Diego |
| • Baltimore | • Detroit | • New England | • San Francisco |
| • Buffalo | • Green Bay | • New Orleans | • Seattle |
| • Carolina | • Houston | • NY Giants | • St. Louis |
| • Chicago | • Indianapolis | • NY Jets | • Tampa Bay |
| • Cincinnati | • Jacksonville | • Oakland | • Tennessee |
| • Cleveland | • Kansas City | • Philadelphia | • Washington |
