It's a weird double-edged sword, for sure. But it's always about instant vs delayed gratification, isn't it?
On the one hand, you lose a bunch of freedom when you're young, but you set yourself up (potentially) for the rest of your life. And honestly, the odds of you going pro are slim to none. The odds of a BA helping you to land a better job than without the BA are way higher. And sure, there are lots of great jobs for which you don't need a degree, but you'll need some sort of apprenticeship or trade school.
My own experience was this: I was sponsored for years. I got to travel and see the world via skating and I thought I was the luckiest dude in the world. I even started college before that happened and then dropped out to skate. But then, one day when I was pushing 26 or 27, it became painfully obvious that I was never going to get my name on a board. And even if I had? I would've been B or C-level at best and never in my life have made enough money to live off of, let alone retire on. Even if I had stuck it out and maybe (maybe?) turned pro at 30 (like some people have, and fucking A good for them), I would certainly have had to do a second act in life when that ride ended. But trying to figure out your second act at 35 or 38 or 40 is a hell of a lot more difficult than at 26. So I kept skating and came up with a contingency plan: go back to college, get an artsy fartsy degree and see what happens. Then I went to grad school and somehow was lucky enough to get a job that I love and still leaves me time to skate while still contributing to a 401K and not constantly worrying about blowing out a knee in my twilight years.
Not turning pro was the best thing that ever happened to me, in hindsight. I talk to a lot of my friends who are pro (but, like, B or C-level, whose shoe money is gone, who are barely holding onto those boards) and have no clue what's going to happen when the gravy train comes to a stop. Team managing? Maybe? Repping? Sales? Sure. All in the skateboard industry, and none of them with a real long term prospect.
I know they're smart dudes who are going to somehow land on their feet, but being 37 without a resume or marketable skills? That's fucking tough.
But again, the double edged sword: fuck man, they got to live, see the world on a board, briefly become "skateboard famous," and do it all on someone else's dime with smiles on their faces.
Who's to say if the trade-off is worth it?
Fuck, I love skating.