Wow, I see this thread has jumped the shark this morning. It's quite simple really, it's a risk vs. reward scenario. Risk tolerance comes down to the individual, what others are comfortable with is irrelevant in terms of how Micah feels. The reward is largely known already, it's the money associated with being a top 15 draft pick. He has little possible upside in terms of draft position, he could already go as high as the top 5.
What is different this season vs. historically is that there are more risks to consider that have never been a factor. The usual risk of injury from playing is still there as it is every season. But now there's added risk of possible covid complications, both in terms of personal health and impact to the season. Micah could get sick... risk. While impacts aren't definitive now, there's still a chance that Micah catches it, is asymptomatic but ends up with longer term health complications that impact his well-being and/or playing career... risk. The season could get scrapped at any point and meaningful goals such as individual awards, conference championships, national titles, bowl games, regular season games, etc. could all be eliminated... risk.
Micah opting out simply shows us where his risk tolerance lies. He isn't willing to risk losing what he's basically already earned given all these new risk factors. He will make more money with one swipe of a pen on his first NFL contract than 90% of the world will make in a lifetime. It's hard to fault anyone for taking advantage of such an opportunity. Sure it sucks for us fans that saw what he's capable of in the Cotton Bowl and hoped to see that over the course of a full season. I'd love to see him play again too for purely selfish reasons, but Micah has to make decisions that he feels are the best for Micah. He had the potential to go down as one of the all-time PSU greats, but with only 2 seasons as his body of work history will likely slot him in 1-2 tiers below the legends. I'd imagine the millions of dollars in his bank account, playing in the NFL and fulfillment of what has likely been a lifelong dream will more than comfort him with respect to what his PSU career could have been.