Jon Beason: College Football Is a Professional Sport and What Makes “The U” Different

Hard Rock Bet caught up with three-time Pro Bowl linebacker, nine-year NFL veteran and former Miami Hurricanes standout Jon Beason at an exclusive VIP event at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood earlier this month. Beason shared his thoughts on college football eligibility, playoff expansion and what makes playing at Miami *different*, along with a bold NFL prediction and his pick for the league’s most underrated player.

What are your thoughts on NFL players returning to College Football?

I think for the longest time, we were fed something that wasn’t true. Collegiate sports are collegiate, but when it comes to football and basketball, it’s been professional. If you talk about a company making X amount of money and not having to pay your employees, that’s always been the problem. So the reason why they’re paying now is because they should have. So in my opinion, this is America… if someone doesn’t want to hire me and someone else does, and I still have eligibility based on the rules. You think about Chris Weinke, who obviously went to play baseball and came back at 29 years old. So it’s not about age. It’s about does somebody want to employ you? So if it were up to me, I would say yes.

What do you think about the age gap this could present on the field?

Well, we saw that in the National Championship with Indiana’s average age being 24, 25 years old. If you want to make it in college, the eligibility has to be between the ages of 18 to 22, but they did what they had to do because of COVID. So there’s only a handful of players, maybe 40 players, that have that chance to come back at that age. Age shouldn’t have anything to do with it.

What do you think about the College Football Playoff expanding to 24 teams?

You know what? Honestly, the committee tends to always get it wrong, in my opinion. But creating a playoff environment where everyone has a real chance to be a true national champion. So I would be for the expansion, but I just think that it’s a massive jump. I think 24 teams is probably too much. 16 would probably be the sweet spot, but then you give away a couple of first-round byes, and I think it works out.

What makes “The U” different?

I think, first off, this is the standard that’s set from guys all the way back to the ’80s. I’ll start with Michael Irvin as the original OG. But I think when you go to the U, you have to uphold that standard, and fans are really not about being pretty good or average or almost won championships. So I think as a player, you embrace that. You follow the guys that came before you, and it ends up being a good time at Miami, but also you’re part of a fraternity. I think that’s unmatched.

Can the Miami Hurricanes win it all this year?

Yeah. I didn’t think last year they could win it all, but they proved me wrong. So I think it’s about maturing, getting hot at the right time, and I think the foundation last year really set it up so that they can take that next step and finish. I mean, they were just one play away, unfortunately, from winning last year, but it’s difficult in college. There’s so many good teams and injuries and whatnot and timing and everything, but this year could be the year that we’re back competing for championships.

What’s one hot take for the NFL season?

I believe Kyler Murray returns to his Heisman form that he had at Oklahoma when he came out as the number one pick. He’s the man this year. Look out for Kyler Murray.

Who is the most underrated player in the NFL right now?

Most underrated player right now in the NFL I think is Brock Purdy. Obviously he’s been paid, but he came out of nowhere. We just saw what he did against the Rams, and in my personal opinion, they’ve got everything they need, and the 49ers can make a push for the Super Bowl. Brock Purdy, most underrated player in the NFL.