What the league needs is a minor league, similar to what the baseball league has.  The teams would take kids right from high school, and there would be maybe two levels, since kids coming out of high school usually need time to put size on.  All players would get paid like a job.  The NFL and teams could control the way the game is played, that way it's similar to the "major" league and the players are more of a known entity.  So, when a player appears ready, they get promoted to the next "level" or right into the league.  With the internet, those guys could still access many, many available college degrees (certainly at least as good as the garbage degrees some of these guys have).  

I'm sure there's a market available for something like this.  Maybe there's a stipulation tickets could only be purchased at the gate, to avoid unreasonable ticket prices brought on by people buying only tickets to re-sell at outrageous prices, making the game available to limited budget.