Wow 49ers LB Borland retiring!!!

[Russ Smith]

People trade thier health for no fame and little to no wealth every day.

I respect Mr. Borland's decision. But I see it as highly idealistic, and borderline illogical.

If he has made enough to live on then I may be off base here, but life takes its pound of flesh one way or another, imo.

Sent from my intergalactic transmorgapher

He is apparently a bright kid and decided he can make enough money using his degree that he doesn't want to risk his health.

Kid had concussions in 8th and 10th grade so he's had the issue early in his career, he thinks he had one in training camp last year but he didn't say anything out of fear he might not make the team. So he said he did the research and realized the incentive to play with concussions would always be there and that's why guys end up with brain injuries later in life.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

He is apparently a bright kid and decided he can make enough money using his degree that he doesn't want to risk his health.

Kid had concussions in 8th and 10th grade so he's had the issue early in his career, he thinks he had one in training camp last year but he didn't say anything out of fear he might not make the team. So he said he did the research and realized the incentive to play with concussions would always be there and that's why guys end up with brain injuries later in life.

And I respect his decision, especially since money is not an issue for him.

My basic point is while being a NFL linebacker is a dangerous occupation, it is not the only dangerous occupation in the world.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl...players-give-up-millions-to-retire/ar-AA9Thm4

You know it is the offseason when hyperbole is this rampant.

Willis - Hurt. Retired because of injuries.
Locker - Hurt. Retired because of injuries.

Borland and Worilds both retired because of self-preservation.

1,696 players in the NFL, its a young man's game so I say about 95% of the players are 30 or younger, so about 1600 players 30 and under in the NFL.

The new "trend" includes 0.125% of all NFL players. A little bit of a stretch there.

 

[az jam]

Interesting perspective.

Charles Robinson retweeted
Jim Trotter ‏@JimTrotter_NFL
“@annkillion: Tim Ryan said "Patrick Willis retired. Chris Borland quit."” <--- 49ers color analyst.

 

[crisper57]

NFL has a problem now, a big problem. Don't believe me? Go to CNN right now. Borland is plastered across their website. Anytime the NFL jumps from the sports page to the front page, they are in big doodoo.

 

[oaken1]

Interesting perspective.

Charles Robinson retweeted
Jim Trotter ‏@JimTrotter_NFL
“@annkillion: Tim Ryan said "Patrick Willis retired. Chris Borland quit."” <--- 49ers color analyst.

I agree with that perspective. One retires after completing a body of work over a sustained period of time...at the end of a career....one season is not a career nor a sustained body of work....kid didn't like the risks, so he quit...pretty simple.

 

[Shane]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl...players-give-up-millions-to-retire/ar-AA9Thm4

You know it is the offseason when hyperbole is this rampant.

Willis - Hurt. Retired because of injuries.
Locker - Hurt. Retired because of injuries.

Borland and Worilds both retired because of self-preservation.

1,696 players in the NFL, its a young man's game so I say about 95% of the players are 30 or younger, so about 1600 players 30 and under in the NFL.

The new "trend" includes 0.125% of all NFL players. A little bit of a stretch there.

I'm with you.. Anyone thinking this is GREATLY reducing the NFL talent pool or Gonna somehow impact the quality of the game IMO is way overstating...

 

[oaken1]

I'm with you.. Anyone thinking this is GREATLY reducing the NFL talent pool or Gonna somehow impact the quality of the game IMO is way overstating...

I dunno....we now live in a society that glorifies candy-asses....may have a rule by next season stating players may only contact each other between the shoulder pads and the jock strap.


P.S.
Not claiming Borland is a candy ass..he made a decision and he will live with it. However...all those punk ass ******* who played for 10-12 years KNOWING the threat of concussion...collected MILLIONS of dollars for that risk....then turned around and filed suit against the league for millions more due to the damage they received....CANDY-ASSES...every one. *******...fakes....not men...chicken ****s....there, that should be clear....

 

[HeavyB3]

I agree with that perspective. One retires after completing a body of work over a sustained period of time...at the end of a career....one season is not a career nor a sustained body of work....kid didn't like the risks, so he quit...pretty simple.

I agree but I also don't think anything negative about it. I quit teaching after 8 years. I didn't retire. The opportunity costs (trading low pay for lots of time off, etc) were no longer worth all the stress and frustration the job entails. I'm sure that he thought that playing football and risk being immobile or having to deal with early stages of dementia or CTE at 45 was not worth the money and fame. These are decisions people must make for themselves.

 

[HeavyB3]

I dunno....we now live in a society that glorifies candy-asses....may have a rule by next season stating players may only contact each other between the shoulder pads and the jock strap.


P.S.
Not claiming Borland is a candy ass..he made a decision and he will live with it. However...all those punk ass ******* who played for 10-12 years KNOWING the threat of concussion...collected MILLIONS of dollars for that risk....then turned around and filed suit against the league for millions more due to the damage they received....CANDY-ASSES...every one. *******...fakes....not men...chicken ****s....there, that should be clear....

Wait a second. Guys in the 60's and 70's in the NFL were not collecting millions of dollars. If you go back to the 50's, you'll see that guys had to have second jobs picking watermelons to make ends meet in the off season. Sure, they knew that the job was dangerous but there wasn't much research to point out just how dangerous it was. So now these guys, who gave up their well-being to play football for 10-12 years and paved the way for the guys today to get paid astronomical amounts of money, see how much profit the NFL makes every single year and they get nothing. They possibly ruined their ability to hold down steady employment, their long term health and they don't deserve anything?

 

[gmabel830]

I dunno....we now live in a society that glorifies candy-asses....may have a rule by next season stating players may only contact each other between the shoulder pads and the jock strap.


P.S.
Not claiming Borland is a candy ass..he made a decision and he will live with it. However...all those punk ass ******* who played for 10-12 years KNOWING the threat of concussion...collected MILLIONS of dollars for that risk....then turned around and filed suit against the league for millions more due to the damage they received....CANDY-ASSES...every one. *******...fakes....not men...chicken ****s....there, that should be clear....

If remembering my kids names and why I went to the grocery store at age 50 makes me a candy-ass, then I guess I am a candy-ass!

 

[Shane]

Wait a second. Guys in the 60's and 70's in the NFL were not collecting millions of dollars. If you go back to the 50's, you'll see that guys had to have second jobs picking watermelons to make ends meet in the off season. Sure, they knew that the job was dangerous but there wasn't much research to point out just how dangerous it was. So now these guys, who gave up their well-being to play football for 10-12 years and paved the way for the guys today to get paid astronomical amounts of money, see how much profit the NFL makes every single year and they get nothing. They possibly ruined their ability to hold down steady employment, their long term health and they don't deserve anything?

Irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. Extensive studies and research regarding brain hope etc. weren't available back then like they are today. I have highly doubt the NFL was hiding anything back in those days were trying to cover anything up. Those guys still strap it on and played voluntarily.

I think the players that he's referring to are the Tony Dorsett's of the world. That definitely still made millions even in the late 70s and early 80s.

 

[HeavyB3]

Irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. Extensive studies and research regarding brain hope etc. weren't available back then like they are today. I have highly doubt the NFL was hiding anything back in those days were trying to cover anything up. Those guys still strap it on and played voluntarily.

I think the players that he's referring to are the Tony Dorsett's of the world. That definitely still made millions even in the late 70s and early 80s.

Studies began to link concussions to long term medical problems like ALS as early 94. The NFL hired a guy who was not a neurologist to study the issue as well, and they claimed the opposite. Other scientists criticized the findings of the NFL because of bias and it turns out that they were right to do so. As late as 2003, the NFL was claiming it was safe to put a player back into a game even if he had a suffered a concussion. The NFL was negligent because they discounted research that disagreed with their in-house research.

Do people who worked in shipyards, in construction and so forth have a right to sue their employers over the use of asbestos? Does ignorance excuse negligence? You could argue that the NFL does not owe players prior to the 90's anything, because the data was not there to support the claim that concussions are dangerous long term. However, once that study came out that linked ALS to concussions in football players in 94, the NFL should have taken the potential dangers of concussions more seriously. That is where they moved from ignorant to negligent.

Remember, you can use a limited supply of data to support any claim. This is what the NFL did. It's what tobacco companies tried to do to cover up the fact that cigarettes are dangerous. Now that the dangers of smoking are known, there is an assumption of risk. You smoke, you know the consequences. If you play football now, you know the consequences. You assume the risk for the opportunity to make millions and be famous. Players today get to weigh these risk/rewards scenarios.

I am worried though, because I love football and the NFL. Sure this is not a massive trend right now, but it could become one. There could also be some very dominant athletic children that are prohibited from playing football by their parents, guys who could have been in the NFL because playing football is too dangerous. We should take this issue more seriously because 20, 30, 50 years from now, we might see the consequences.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Deadspin has a pretty interesting article on this topic.

We Asked 14 Retired NFL Players: Would You Do It Again?

http://deadspin.com/we-asked-14-retired-nfl-players-would-you-do-it-again-1691919600

They cover a lot of different aspects (briefly), so it makes for an interesting read.

 

[Shane]

Deadspin has a pretty interesting article on this topic.



They cover a lot of different aspects (briefly), so it makes for an interesting read.

I haven't read it yet. Bute the while panel on ESPN this morning all 3 players Woodson, schlereth, and one other all said they would play no questions asked even knowing what they know today...

 

[Kel Varnsen]

I haven't read it yet. Bute the while panel on ESPN this morning all 3 players Woodson, schlereth, and one other all said they would play no questions asked even knowing what they know today...

Are they show hosts or guests?

 

[Kel Varnsen]

borland retiring from football cause he came from a wealthy family,he didntt have any kind of financial problem or have had difficult in the childhood ,other players can t take the same decision

His uncle was a minor celebrity, IIRC.

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[Cardiac]

NFL players on average life span is 20 years less than the rest of the population. That's a damning stat and can't be simply brushed aside.

Great posts HeavyB.

So while only 4 players in the prime of the careers retired this offseason for health reasons and it's only a small % of the overall workforce it is a 400% increase over last year.

Yes the NFL will continue on without these 4 players but the bigger issue is that more and more parents are keeping their boys from playing FB for fear of concussions and injuries in general. Soccer, Baseball and Basketball are safer choices. That's why the NFL has been running non stop adds on their "Heads Up" program and youth coaches being certified in the proper tackling techniques. It's why Mike Golic's wife is on a committee for the Heads Up program and he talks about it a couple of times a week on Mike & Mike.

IIRC is was Crisper who said that the talent pool could be shrinking and it is a legit concern.

 

[SoCal Cardfan]

The NFL should be VERY worried, They've created a product that will allow superstars to put in 2-3 years work and retire comfortably.

The smarter ones are figuring that out... Fortunately for us, most of these guys aren't very bright, and spend more than they make every year.

 

[MadCardDisease]

Sucks for the Niners.

I'm sure Borland has a plan B. He was a student athlete of the year at Wisconson last year. It's not like he played at Ohio State where their athletes take a bunch of BS classes to check a box. He'll be fine.

 

[juza76]

His uncle was a minor celebrity, IIRC.

You must be registered for see images attach

who is? jim belushi?

 

[Azlen]

who is? jim belushi?

That was a joke. The actor is Richard Karn who played a character named Al Borland on the show Home Improvement.

 

[juza76]

That was a joke. The actor is Richard Karn who played a character named Al Borland on the show Home Improvement.

ah thank u,i dont even know who is,i watch just few tv shows and then im sports addicted ,thats all

 

[PDXChris]

The NFL should be VERY worried, They've created a product that will allow superstars to put in 2-3 years work and retire comfortably.

The smarter ones are figuring that out... Fortunately for us, most of these guys aren't very bright, and spend more than they make every year.

Players have been walking away for a long time. In most cases, it is for other reason like knees or feet. In the case of Borland, he is the exception to the rule and even in his case, there are 5 other capible guys ready to take his spot. Heck, we have a guy last year that retired before even collecting a single NFL check in Ryan Swope and no one really said a work outside of AZ.