Second Year NFL Player Retires For Safety Reasons

Wowzer. I wonder if this could become a trend?

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_...er-chris-borland-retires-head-injury-concerns

 

I think it will.

 

But it doesn't matter because there will always be somebody willing to take their place.

 

I think american football is in a lot of trouble.

Yes, others will fill the role, but if talent starts bleeding out, people might not like the product any longer.

 

Nah. Top talent gets paid top dollar, those dudes want them checks.

 

More money starts getting guaranteed in contracts.

 

Bingo, for as long as the $$$ flows

 

Because college football isn't popular.

 

I did not mean to imply any immediate trouble, but I think the long term health of the sport is not looking good. But then I am horrible at predictions.

 

College Football's popularity has less to do with the quality of the product than NFL.

 

I know a ton of people who won't let their kids play*. I think it's gonna be a lot different in 15-20 years.


*this is probably for another thread, but i feel like the NFL and the level that 99.9% of kids play at are apples and oranges. I could be wrong tho.

 

That is where I am leaning, as well. I let my youngest play, but I wish he wouldn't play. And I acknowledge my hypocrisy of watching a sport that I don't want my son playing.

 

i think people are overreacting. nfl and college football is the best it's ever been. we've seen medical retirements before. we've also seen young guys retire before and come back.

 

There's suppose to be a soft cap that you can put around the helmet that reduces head injuries by 33 percent. Regulations has it held up, and it looks different.

 

Some of this is that medical science has changed. We understand these injuries now that not so long ago we didn't even realize were injuries. One good thing that comes out of mainstream and public health problems is it gets research attention. I won't be surprised to see new medicine and treatments for head injuries come down the pike over the next decade that may alleviate some of these concerns. This isn't just a football issue. This is the sort of injury that isn't really addressed in automobile safety and military combat situations either. Brains are resilient, someone is going to find a way to maintain and treat these injuries before the damage from swelling is done, a way to strengthen the meninges, falx cerebri, improve upon cerebrospinal fluids... I don't know. Something.

 

I've always wondered about going back to non-rigid surfaces on the helmets.

 

I think the talk of football being doomed is overreacting, but the concerns about injury are valid. I don't think it is necessarily any worse than before, we just know how bad it really is now.

 

You'll have guys dying on the field instead of when they're 45 or 50.

 

I don't think the long term affects on average are bad enough to worry about this being a serious problem to the future of the sport. we know some people are more prone to concussions and such than others. those people will just have to play other sports.

 

last study I saw showed that nfl players live longer on average than the general population.