In the practical sense, nobody is preventing Athletes from networking. The rules say you can't take money from an agent. They don't say that you can't speak with them.
Also as one of those math and engineering students who was interested in getting a job after studying for 4 years, it is not the same thing. No company offered me $2,500.00 so I could help my mother pay the rent.
They offered me a job. I did not get a signing bonus. I showed up for work and one month latter I received a pay check. Nobody gave me a car or subsidized my carfare on the train to get to work for that month.
It is not even close to being the same thing!
That's because in the math world you were the equivalent of a Division III bench warmer. I assure you, had you been one of the top of statistical analysis at CalTech life would have been very different for you. And your post was still non-responsive as to the double standard for athletic skills as opposed to intellectual. Do you just dislike athletes?