What will Cooper Mays do? The Tennessee Football center was direct when asked about that on The Vol Report Monday.
“I have no clue.”
Mays, a senior, has another year of eligibility left due to the 2020 COVID ruling. He could come back or enter the NFL Draft. A telling sign was that he didn’t take part in Senior Day festivities when the Vols beat the Vanderbilt Commodores 48-24 last Saturday.
However, Mays, whose brother Cade Mays is already in the NFL, playing his second season with the Carolina Panthers, said that was because if there was any chance he was going to do it twice, he didn’t want to do it.
“I’m not one for theatrics and stuff,” he said. “I’m that type of guy, if I was going to have to do it twice, I wouldn’t really do it.”
At the moment, Mays said he is not leaning either way. Reasons for returning are somewhat obvious. He can develop and get better while also improving his draft stock.
Also, Mays said he likes being a leader and develop in that role, which we would be on the offensive line. He added that he just enjoys the culture of Tennessee Football.
“I’m very comfortable here and have my family here and everything, and I’ve carved a pretty nice role for myself out here, so it’s nice,” he said. “I’ve really enjoyed my time here and how much I’ve developed, and it’s been really good for me.”
On the other hand, there are only so many snaps a player has in his career. Staying another year in college would certainly shorten those potential pro snaps.
Injuries are also a factor. Mays’ father, Kevin Mays, suffered a knee injury that derailed his NFL career before the draft in 1995 after his Tennessee Football career ended. Then there is the simple fact that you are leaving money on the table.
“There’s only so much that you have in the tank, and it’s always good to get your clock started, try to go ahead and get into the league and get to the point where you can get retirement and get vested and do something for yourself that will prolong past, make it a career rather than a job,” Mays said.
As far as the time limit to get the pension in the pros, mays noted that comes as long as a player can get that second contract. He said his goal would be to make a role for himself and get himself on the field
Of course, another twist in the financial factor is NIL. The base salary for NFL players is $800,000. If NIL could match or surpass that, Mays didn’t hide the fact that it would change the game.
“It definitely presents itself as an opportunity to play another year and develop more because back in the day, if you wanted to make any money playing the game, you had to go to the NFL, so people immediately, as soon as they got a chance to, they would get out of college and try to go ahead and get in the league,” he said. “But I guess NIL makes it a possibility for people to be enticed into staying longer and probably making a better decision.”
Mays said he is still gathering information and taking a “broad approach” to everything. He said he’ll let everybody know when he feels like he can make a well-informed decision.
It’s worth noting that this even being a topic is a bit ironic, as the Tennessee Football veteran was too often considered undersized for the pros. He said he didn’t really care, though, about people not buying into him.
“It definitely puts a little chip on your shoulder, but at the end of the day, there’s not really but a few people that can change how I really feel,” he said.
