The football culture in the USA

The normal road for an american football player starts at a young age but the moment when the things start to be serious is the highschool years (aged between 14 et 18) it is at this moment when the players start to be noticed. There is even the USATODAY (large national newspaper) that follows closely the best teams . Here is the site of highschool national where the are some good infos

After the highschool finished, the players get selected by universities or (college Football). These colleges promise to the players an education for free to the condition to give body and mind to the university. In fact this is a big business because the players do not get any salaray and allow the college to earn millions of dollars thanks to the TV money and other incentives. For example Notre Dame University, got $40 millions by the NBC channel to have the chance to have the exclusive rights over 5 years. That deal exists and is planned to continue to 2010 for $9 million per year. USC (University of South California in Los Angeles) gets $5 millions per year in TV rights by ABC
The colleges, roam their regions and even some roam the whole nation to find the rare perls that will bring glory to their football team.

Map of major Colleges that play in division I

The Strategy