With the decision to sign a 2-year professional contract at age 18, Colorado Rush and U20 Women’s National Team standout Lindsey Horan has sparked a lot of discussion around the soccer world regarding college scholarships, verbal commitments and the viability of a pro career for women’s players. There are a lot of questions that might be asked but ours is the following:

Will this decision by Horan set a trend in American soccer?

Lindsey Horan

Robert Ziegler: I doubt it. It is groundbreaking to be sure and it could well be the right decision for Lindsey. It appears that what she wants to do is play soccer overseas and this seems like a great opportunity for her to do so. If she’s good at adapting to French culture it could also accelerate her development for the sake of full women’s national team consideration. But there’s a reason the decision has been such an attention-getter. For a long time the goal of girls’ players in this country has been to play college soccer. It’s what the players have targeted and it’s what the club soccer business is built around. That’s not going to change, and there’s no question she is walking away from a very good offer. But let’s not act like she’s upsetting the natural order of society or anything. I feel pretty confident this talented player from a good family will be just fine.

J.R. Eskilson: No. This is an exceptional situation from every level (a perfect storm, if you will) that likely won’t be replicated in the near future. There is a reason why a college scholarship is so coveted in the youth soccer sphere – paying for college is incredibly expensive. There are not many players in the world who are worth more to a professional team than the monetary value of a college scholarship. Horan was one of those players who fit the bill, but I don’t expect this to be common in American soccer.

Travis Clark: There's a pretty simple answer here: without a sustainable women's professional league, anywhere in the world, this simply won't happen too frequently.

There's little reason to fault Horan's decision, as she'll get the opportunity of a lifetime, live in one of the most exciting cities in the world, and get to be part of something special, as it can only be assumed that PSG is getting to pour some of that oil money into the women's team as well as the men.

But is this a sustainable, game-changing decision? Hardly. Other pro leagues around the world hardly can offer full-time salaries, and it's impossible to imagine the money on offer being more than a four-year full or partial scholarship to a U.S. University.

Knee jerk reactions in this case have to be measured, because there's little precedent and no concrete outcome as yet known. In the meantime, one can only hope it works out well for Horan. I know I wouldn't mind living and working in Paris full-time.

Robert Ziegler’s Final Word: So the verdict is in. It won’t become a common event, but it is a good opportunity for Lindsey and we’re all rooting for her, in part because we all want to go to Paris on the company dime and write the feature story about the successful American women’s professional in France!

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