Road to NFL Often Starts at High School Bowl Game

For many of the top prospects in this year’s NFL draft, the path to stardom didn’t begin in college. Instead, it started at the US Army All-American Bowl, an annual high-school all-star game that’s been remarkably good at spotting future NFL talent. Since 2005, 69 participants have reached the pros; this year, 28 are expected to go, with seven projected as first-rounders.

All of this is handled by SportsLink, a small company started in 2000 by an unlikely pair of former polticial operatives in New Jersey. The company, one of many trying to find a way to make big money off high-school sports, relies on a long-time scout who logs 60,000 miles a year evaluating prospects, a tricky prospect for players so young. "A kid can dominate, and then they stop growing," he said. (More football stories.)