After changes, path to pro sports cleared for service academy upperclassmen

A last-second change to federal legislation will allow upperclassmen at United States service academies to pursue professional sports opportunities after all.

Language in the National Defense Authorization Act approved by Congress earlier this month originally prevented cadets from signing contracts as professional athletes until two years after they had graduated from their respective academy. Any cadet who signed a professional sports contract would have been in "breach of agreement to serve as a military officer."

However, thanks to an 11th-hour change filed Tuesday in the federal Omnibus bill currently making its way through Congress, a correction now states that changes "shall only apply with respect to a cadet or midshipman who first enrolls in the United States Military Academy, the United States Naval Academy, or the United States Air Force Academy on or after June 1, 15 2021.''

That means that current upperclassmen can in fact become eligible for professional sports drafts and free agent professional contracts. 

In 2019, the Pentagon and the Trump administration amended the rule to allow cadets to defer their service if they were offered a professional sports contract. 

That change allowed Air Force defensive tackle Jordan Jackson to be drafted by the New Orleans Saints 194th overall last year, and  several former Air Force baseball players have been drafted in the years since the rule change took effect. 

A handful of other Air Force football players were recently named Mountain West All-Americans and could have garnered looks from NFL teams as draft season approaches.