Mike Celizic

Now that Sam Bradford’s not doing anything, maybe he’ll want to watch President Obama’s address to students, just to remind himself why he stayed in school.

Shortly before the end of the first half of Oklahoma’s loss to BYU, Bradford should have had cause to wonder about the wisdom of his decision to stay in school for another year instead of turning pro. That’s when he got hit shortly after releasing a pass and came off the field with what’s being described as a sprained throwing shoulder.

Just like that, the reasons Bradford thought he had for staying in school evaporated. A second Heisman is no longer possible. A trip to the BCS championship game became an extreme long shot. His position in the 2010 draft is not going to be as good as it was in the 2009 NFL meat market.

On the upside, he still gets to go to fraternity parties.

It’s not that much of an upside, not when you compare it to what Bradford gave up to have it.

Getting on a guy for choosing to play as an amateur in college isn’t an easy thing to do. Despite our fascination with wealth and celebrity and professional athletes, we still have a soft spot for athletes who pass up the money, even if only for a year, to continue playing a game for the same reason they played as kids — because it’s fun.

But there’s no way to get around the fact that Bradford made a really dumb decision when he opted out of the NFL draft and returned to Norman, Okla. It was dumb when he made it, and it’s really dumb now.

The injury isn’t a career-ender, but that’s not the point. All Bradford has to do is tune into the New York Jets’ first game next week to see what he could have been doing this year. If he does, he’ll see Mark Sanchez starting at quarterback for a marquee team.

Sanchez was in the same situation as Bradford at the end of last year’s college season. Like Bradford, the then-USC quarterback was eligible for the draft but also had one more year of college eligibility. Sanchez heard the same pleas from fans to stay in school. His coach, Pete Carroll, went so far as to tell the media that Sanchez wasn’t ready for the pros and was making a big mistake.

Bradford decided to stay in school, where he could maybe win another Heisman in what was supposed to be a great three-way battle with the Longhorns' Colt McCoy and Florida’s Tim Tebow. He could maybe win the BCS’ mythical national championship. He could keep going to those frat parties. And he could do it all without a regular source of income.

Sanchez decided to enter the draft. The Jets took him high and paid him enough money to allow him to buy three or four fraternities. Once in a pro camp, he won the quarterback battle and will lead the Jets into battle — take that, Coach Carroll.

It shouldn’t be hard to see which player made the smarter choice. If Sanchez gets hurt, he’s got his contract and the best medical care in the world. He’s also got a team that’s committed to his future.

All Bradford has is an insurance policy against the prospect of a career-ending injury. It’s a big policy and will pay him handsomely. But it won’t be what he could have earned in the pros.

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