He just didn’t see it coming. As University of Florida hero and legend Tim Tebow looked for the open man, Kentucky’s defensive end blind-sided him, knocking Tebow to the ground in an oh-that’s-gotta-hurt kind of way. To make matters worse, as the 2007 Heisman winner fell from grace, the back of his helmet slammed into the knee of his own offensive lineman, Marcus Gilbert. Tebow lay motionless for more than a few seconds, and the 70,000 plus faithful of Gator Nation fell silent. As the American hero was finally carted off the field, the TV cameras captured him heaving his breakfast into a bag. But not to worry, Gator faithful, Tebow’s concussion shouldn’t keep him out too long, and he’ll probably be back for Florida’s next big game.

Its pretty clear why many talented athletes leave college after one or two years for the pros. College football can be as hard hitting as the real thing, or at least hard enough to cause serious and permanent injury. When players sign on to big NFL contracts, they are usually guaranteed some sum of money that exceeds a million dollars, regardless of whether they tear their ACL in the first game of the season. But in college, a bright young star with professional prospects and a potentially multi-million dollar career in front of him can lose it all in the blink of an eye. No wonder we applaud a star like Tebow who chooses to stay in school through his senior year.

Schools profit off their athletes, but do these athletes really benefit from their schools? It might appear that college football is a two-way street — universities get publicity and millions of dollars in advertising revenue from just one segment of their athletics program. Although players don’t receive seven figure salaries as undergraduates, colleges surely pave the way for many players to make it in the big league. And being treated like a god on campus can’t hurt either (Colt McCoy used to have co-eds camping outside his dorm room to try and get some one on one time with the Texas stud). If you take a closer look, however, this façade of a mutually beneficial relationship crumbles to pieces.

Out of the more than 9,000 collegiate football players, less than two and a half percent of them ever make it to the NFL. Many players spend years traveling weekend after weekend, staying at shitty motels and struggling to keep up with their school work because they hope that one day they might get drafted. But most of them don’t. Even a Heisman winner like Tebow doesn’t necessarily fit into the mold of an NFL quarterback and knows that stardom is far from assured (he is viewed as a late first round pick by most sports analysts).

As for the benefits of popularity as an undergraduate, according to former Notre Dame football captain and author of several books on college ball Michael Oriard, “It’s the downside of celebrity without the upside of it.” Many athletes receive Paris Hilton-like scrutiny of their private lives, without getting many of the financial luxuries that usually accompany such fame. While football players risk their necks for their alma mater, they are limited by the NCAA from signing any sort of endorsement deals that would provide them a fraction of the millions of dollars they generate. It is true that players at football powerhouses like Florida, USC and Ohio State receive large scholarships and an education to boot for their talents on the field. But no matter how many commercials praise the scholar athletes at our universities, playing football for a powerhouse can be a full time endeavor. In fact, many top universities offer a pamphlet of “suggested courses” for players that don’t have time for a full load of course work. Very few are lucky enough to leave a University unscathed and on the path towards a career in the NFL — but even the best have found themselves unprepared for the dark future ahead.

Football continually evolves to become a more and more brutal sport. Rules have been altered to protect the quarterback, and punish certain types of tackles that put players at higher risk. But with better training and steroids, players are getting bigger, faster and hitting harder. These changes filter down from the NFL all the way to Pee Wee football. The NFL has been unwilling to risk damaging their multi-billion dollar industry by acknowledging such risks until they released a study on cognitive decline of retired players just last Tuesday. Recent studies have detailed several stories of Hall of Famers who went crazy, became homeless and committed suicide by shooting themselves and drinking anti-freeze, all before they hit 50. So is there any way to fix a system that’s clearly broken?

The short answer is yes, and the longer answer is yes and it won’t happen. First of all, the NFL (and the NCAA) should do away with head-to-head contact of linebackers, as many experts have suggested. The game would be much less punishing if 300 pound plus mountains of men started from a squatting position rather than slamming headfirst into each other play after play. Second, concussions need to be taken far more seriously. Head trauma doesn’t just make you forget whether you ate Special K or Wheaties for breakfast — it does serious and long-term damage to the most important organ in your body. Helmets can’t protect your brain against bouncing around in your skull — yet as long as they can walk and talk and tackle, players are hastily thrown back into games without a more thorough examination of their well being. Schools need to stop worrying about their BCS prospects and care a little bit more about the young men who put their health on the line for the love of the game and little else.

Gabriel Dobbs is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. He may be reached at gdobbs@cornellsun.com. Smooth and Confident appears alternate Fridays this semester.