Who is going to reimburse the person who didn’t get into the academy because the school chose an athlete instead? Somebody lost here; we just don’t know that person’s name.
The ceiling number of officers is governed by statute and managed by the individual services. If we are short a naval officer, another will be brought in through one program or another.
It’s my understanding that the slots for athletes entering a military academy are managed separately from those entering by Congressional nomination. I believe I read that in some thread here on FR but I can’t cite specifics.
Nobody loses. He’ll still do his service, just later. And the Navy gets good publicity. This happens every few years. Only thing that made this a big deal is he’s the first in a while to get denied.
Why would you make such a disparaging comment about someone dedicated to serving our country? A 27 year old can most certainly serve our country, but has virtually no chance of playing in the NFL. If he can outreach to young fans and open their minds to serving our country as an NFL player, what's wrong with that?
FWIW- folks who don't complete one of the Military Academies are on the hook for tuition at roughly 50k a year.