Lawerence will not be NFL Draft-eligible until '21 but some say he is ready to play pro nowGETTY IMAGES
Pacific Pro Football League Founder Don Yee said he would like Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence to "be our Joe Namath," according to Scott Keepfer of the GREENVILLE NEWS. Namath played three seasons at Alabama before "before leaving to pursue a pro career early after being the No. 1 overall draft pick" in '64 by the Jets of the "fledgling American Football League." Pac Pro is "scheduled to debut with four teams in southern California" in July '20, and will be the first league to "professionalize players who are less than three years removed from high school graduation." In a radio interview with WGFX-FM in Nashville on Thursday, Yee said, "Our player population will be players such as Trevor Lawrence at Clemson. We would like to make him an employment offer, professionalize him right away." Yee added, "Adidas is one of our founding sponsors, and I think they might want to make him an endorsement proposal" (GREENVILLE NEWS, 2/2).
AMERICAN-MADE: PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Mike Florio noted Shaquille O'Neal "emerged on Friday as a partial owner" of the Alliance of American Football, which announced O'Neal is an "investor in the upstart league" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 2/1). Meanwhile, NFL Network will "televise 19 games" of the AAF, which debuts "next weekend with eight teams." The AAF "already has a deal with CBS," and is "not affiliated with the NFL, but a tie-in with NFL Network could be a major step for the startup." Following the league's opening weekend, NFL Net will "air two games per week in prime time on Saturday and Sunday nights" (AP, 2/1).
GO YOUR OWN WAY: XFL Commissioner & CEO Oliver Luck "made it clear" that league Founder Vince McMahon is "not interested in just developing players for the NFL." Luck said, "Vince wants to develop a sustainable, standalone league. He doesn't want to be a developmental league. I ran a developmental league for 10 years. But I think Vince's mindset is to build something that can last and sustain itself on its own without any support from the NFL or anyone else" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 2/1).
