It works real well in baseball. I've encountered students with the dilemma...do they risk injury playing college baseball or do they go into the minor leagues with a franchise working with them while they combine baseball and education?
With football, less thuggish egotists on campus pretending to get an education might benefit everyone.....including them.
I dealt personally with a top-tier basketball/baseball player at a major college. The guy had no interest in education and the system coddled him throughout.