I don't disagree that this sends a bad message to kids, but why is playing in the NFL a privilege? It's just a business.
The privilege sir, is that it's a highly paid business, but at the end of the day it IS just a sport.
I'm not sure of facts here, and I'm purely speculating, but I imagine the percentage of football players in the NFL that DON't like to play football is VERY small, they play football because the enjoy it, it's their passion. Playing professional sport is a privilege, its there to simply entertain the masses, it's a luxury career, the same as acting - its nothing more than modern day gladiatorial contests.
Take someone like David Beckham, the soccer player, yes he's trained hard since he was a child, but he still considers playing soccer and getting paid for it to be a privilege.