Why do all heisman winners suck in the NFL?

better to say after sanders the rest really have done nothing 87 on up,, plus the award has lost its luster anyway the best college player doesnt get it anymore its always who will sell better tickets and boost tv ratings like this yr they wanted another heisman vrs heisman match up... oh boy from okie had better numbers only because they padded stats keeping him in for the blowout style points but thats tv contracts for ya, they really need to educate these voters on what the heisman means not by what they get in their pockets

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There was a time when winning the Heisman, the award for college football’s best player, was a harbinger of good things to come. Winners of decades past went on to excel in the NFL — Roger Staubach, O.J. Simpson, Tony Dorsett, Marcus Allen, Bo Jackson, Barry Sanders and Charles Woodson are just some of the Heisman winners who became professional greats.

Sadly, that is no longer the case. Whether because college programs mold players in images that don’t produce in the NFL (see: read-option quarterbacks like Robert Griffin III) or just bad luck, recent winners of the trophy have gone on to have terrible or disappointing NFL careers more often than not.

Let’s look back at the previous 14 winners, since 2000:

2000: Chris Weinke, QB. A mostly career backup with just two NFL wins to his name.

2001: Eric Crouch, QB. Drafted as a wide receiver, got injured, got allocated to NFL Europe.

2002: Carson Palmer, QB. A rare exception, Palmer has been selected to two Pro Bowls.

2003: Jason White, QB. Not selected in the 2005 NFL Draft.

2004: Matt Leinart, QB. A disappointment with Arizona before bouncing around the league as a backup.

2005: ????? (Reggie Bush, but his name has been wiped from the record books.)

2006: Troy Smith, QB. A fifth-round pick by the Ravens who was recently released by his CFL team.

2007: Tim Tebow, QB. He won a playoff game. Now he works for ESPN. Could have been a tight end.

2008: Sam Bradford, QB. He could be decent if he wasn’t injured all of the time.

2009: Mark Ingram, Jr., RB. A disappointing backup for most of his career.

2010: Cam Newton, QB. Another exception… maybe. The jury is still out despite a Pro Bowl selection.

2011: Robert Griffin III, QB. One good season. Now, potentially, a colossal bust.

2012: Johnny Manziel, QB. Had his first NFL start yesterday. It didn’t go well.

2013: Jameis Winston, QB. Between his inconsistency and his off-field behavior, no sure bet to succeed.

On the other hand, Heisman runner-ups and third place finishers usually go on to see great success or at least long careers. Here are just a few examples:

2000: Drew Brees.

2001: Rex Grossman (he played in the Super Bowl!).

2003: Larry Fitzgerald and Eli Manning.

2004: Adrian Peterson.

2005: …Vince Young?

2006: Darren McFadden.

2007: Darren McFadden (hey, at least he’s still in the league).

2010: Andrew Luck.

2011: Andrew Luck.

2012: Manti Teo.

Does this mean we should expect Pro Bowl careers from Melvin Gordon and Amari Cooper? Not necessarily, but the relative success of runner-ups, as opposed to Heisman winners, definitely gives us pause. Combine this with the fact that NFL Draft experts don’t see any franchise quarterbacks coming out this year, and we’ve got more reasons to doubt Mariota’s future than to look forward to it. Here’s to hoping he bucks the trend (right, Jets/Titans/Buccaneers fans?)

Yes, there are Heisman winners that sucked (Ron Dayne, Eric Crouch, Rashaan Salaam), but there are a bunch of great ones too.

Such as Roger Staubach, Barry Sanders, Desmond Howard, Tim Brown, Marcus Allen. Bo Jackson, Doug Flutie, Billy Sims, Earl Campbell, Tony Dorsett, Jim Plunkett, OJ Simpson (player, not criminal), Paul Hornung, Alan Ameche, and Doak Walker

because college football and professional football are not the same game ..... thats why. Archie Griffin, the only two time winner of the Heisman sucked in the NFL.

See Barry Sanders, Tony Dorsett, Earl Campbell, Tim Brown, Charles Woodson, Eddie George, Jim Plunkett, etc etc etc. You can not say ALL because of the last 3 or 4.

Get educated. Do some internet searches. History tells a different story. You don't seem to even know who won the Heisman...

VY didn't win the Heisman. It's this simple: being a great collegiate player does not guarantee NFL success.

That will sometime have a lot to do with where these guys end up and what kind of a system they are in.

Keep in mind that a lot of the top players end up on bad teams starting out.

because of the fact the NFL is plenty harder than college soccer. it is uncomplicated to do stable in college and entirely suck in the NFL. plenty better than 0.5 of all college gamers do no longer pass to the NFL and don't plan on enjoying after college.