NFLPA to Finance the Rookie Symposium; To Take Place in June in Canton, OH

With the lockout dragging on, the back and forth between events continues. Today it’s being reported that the NFL’s rookie symposium, which was canned at first – is now back on.

Sports Illustrated’s Jim Trotter first reported that the event is back on thanks to the NFLPA. The NFLPA will host and finance the symposium in Washington DC in June 28-29. The original NFL-NFLPA joint event was scheduled for June 26th in Canton, Ohio.

The symposium is designed to help the rookies’ transition as they enter the NFL, teaching the players life skill such as money management. The symposium will be called “The Business of Football: Rookie Edition.”

“It was important for us to do this because it’s a critical time in the lives of players who are about to enter the league,” NFLPA spokesman George Atallah told Trotter. “Lockout issues aside, it’s important that players are prepared for this next phase in their lives and careers.”

“The symposium is a large, complex event involving many professionals and others,” league spokeman Greg Aiello said at the time. “In fairness, we could not continue to keep their commitment on hold.”

It doesn’t mean we are any closer to playing football, but it’s a good step to see the younger players in the league at least get a chance to learn some of the in’s and out’s of the league and how things work.