There are a lot of misconceptions in these posts. Many of these comments are based on the false premise that if you stay you automatically get better or get more.
First, if you are not realistically going to improve your draft status to a first or second round pick then the conversation is completely different. All the big paydays are in the first and seconds rounds.
There is a lot more to consider if you are a late pick or may only improve from a late round to a middle round pick. These are just a few of the factors a player is considering.
What is the potential to be picked regardless of round.
After the 2nd and 4th rounds the signing bonuses drop off considerably. You may only get a 100K or less signing bonus.
After the 5th round you are probably not getting a guaranteed contract and are not making a ton of money
NFL rookie minimum is about 500k.
Majority of players in late rounds are out of the league in two years.
Conversely,
Practice squad players make a little over 100K minimum but some make more depending on the team.
They get to work out with actual professional coaches, trainers and players.
They are learning the Pro system and live as a pro while they can take this opportunity to improve their play and status.
You can be picked up by any team off a practice squad, which improves your ability to get onto a roster as opposed to a team using a valuable draft pick.
Tony Romo, Arian Foster, Jason Peters, James Harrison, Danny Woodhead, and Danny Amendola all were on practice squads at one time. It is not impossible even if it is not frequent.
First and second round picks have all the reason to come back. A middle round pick has a decent payout but not much is going to change between 3 and 4 or 5 and 6. Balance all this with coming back to play one more year in college.
Personal issues?
What are the risk of playing? You are not being paid for that risk.
Insurance policies are for realistic high picks…potential late round picks are not likely getting insured.
Will you continue to be motivated to keep playing one more year while looking ahead? (Remember, it doesn’t matter how you think players should be motivated).
How good is the team? How good are the coaches, trainers and over all staff? (Bama is different than Tulsa). Sometimes, a player has to decided if playing another year for a poor team is worth more than 100K a year to practice with professionals.
Staying one more year does not automatically increase your draft status....it is not as simple as stay and get more.
Like it or not…agree or not…many players want to be pros. They may absolutely love Miami but their dream is still to be a pro. I know a lot of you hate players leaving early but no one can balance these factors for the players.