To be a college football athlete or any athlete in general you have to be willing to sacrifice large amounts of time. The time obviously being devoted to playing the game, training, and practice.

(Arkansas defensive lineman at practice)

The average division 1 football player spends about 43.3 hours per week on football. They are working more hours than the average work week and this is something the NCAA has failed to realize. The amount of time these athletes spend on perfecting their craft to play the game is all benefiting the NCAA. The sad reality is that not all of these players will make it to the NFL and even those who do make it to the NFL are not guaranteed to be there for long with the average NFL career spanning 3.3 years.