Provision in Senate bill set to pave way for Army DE Andre Carter to be an early 2023 NFL draft choice
Army edge rusher Andre Carter should be able to play in the NFL in 2023.
Carter is a potential first-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft, though a bill passed through Congress last week was set to force him to fulfill his military service requirement before playing in the NFL. Had that bill become law, Carter would have either had to wait years to play in the NFL or pursue an NFL career and not graduate while paying back his West Point tuition.
But the omnibus spending bill proposed by the Senate Appropriations Committee Tuesday includes a provision that allows Carter and any other athlete enrolled at either West Point, Navy or Air Force before June 1, 2021, to get a waiver to defer his or her military service due to a professional sports opportunity.
The provision in the bill is termed as a “technical correction relating to applicability of agreement by a cadet or midshipman to play professional sport constituting breach of agreement to serve as an officer.” It amends the bill passed a week ago to give Carter and any other athlete the chance to play pro sports right away.
Carter’s parents detailed their disappointment with the previous bill to ESPN on Friday.
"Here's the thing that's so painful," Melissa Carter told ESPN, before Gallagher issued his statement indicating he would seek a legacy exception that would apply to Carter and other current athletes at service academies. "You guide your son to do the right things because it's right. And it's really disappointing that it's not reciprocated. This has been his goal since childhood, to go into the NFL. Every step of the way, that was on track, until we saw this article. That's the part that's disappointing. It's not surprising to see so many people transfer, opt out or switch teams. When loyalty is not reciprocated, that stings."
The professional sports future for military academy athletes has yo-yoed back and forth in recent years. A 2016 rule change allowed Navy’s Keenan Reynolds to play right away with the Baltimore Ravens after he was drafted in the fifth round. That change was rescinded in 2017 and athletes subsequently found themselves needing to fulfill two years of military service before playing professionally.
Another rule change was passed in 2019 that allowed athletes to defer their service and play right away. But last week’s rule change proposed by Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher (R) was poised to revise the 2019 change and put Carter’s pro future in limbo.
Given the bipartisan effort behind the push in Tuesday’s bill, Carter should be able to prep for an immediate NFL career. Carter emerged as a potential top NFL draft pick in 2021 with 14.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss. He has seven tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks through 10 games in 2022 as he’s been a constant source of double teams.
