A sobering article about Brad Johnson

[Warhorse]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2013/04/23/brad-johnson-price-of-nfl-career/2108063/

 

Just a glimpse about what they face after football.

[chad72]

Yes, it is depressing. Like Kurt Warner and Ed Reed opined recently, they played football so that their kids did not have to.

 

I hope some of the elite QBs we see now during our time don't turn into basket cases, it would be hard for us to accept and deal with but it is all part of life, I guess.

[ReMeDy]

Good thing Andrew Luck probably doesn't visit this forum to notice this topic, considering he's still stuck on a flip-phone.

[Hans Moleman]

Tough gig, but it's one where today, at least the players have a much better idea of what they're signing up for. Just 10 years ago when I played, coaches were in flat out denial about concussions and long term damage the sport could cause even at the high school and college levels. Every year, high schoolers die from coaches who don't know how to handle concussions. It's both tragic and underreported. 

 

Today, I'd relate it like this: if you wouldn't let your kid box, you shouldn't let them play football. Yet I still run in to parents who shudder at the former while having no problem letting them play the latter.

[amfootball]

The stiff neck caught my eye and makes you wonder what life will be like for Peyton when he is in his 40's. My chiropractor said the type of fusion Peyton had will put him in a wheelchair in about 10 years.

[21isSuperman]

I've heard this statement many times and I'm curious to see what others have to say about it: if football was invented in the year 2000, it would have been banned in 2001.  Do people agree?  Disagree?

[southwest1]

Life is full of calculated risks & trade offs. Money, financial security, & pain & suffering. If you were born into poverty & the projects & football can provide a means out of this dead end road with no other prospects, what other alternative does a person have other than a career in the military? There is nothing wrong with either choice here. My point is this: You ride whatever natural talent you have to lucrative success & you know that you will have to pay the piper someday. Nothing comes easy. We all pay the toll eventually. 

[southwest1]

I always find it curious that professional athletes seldom speak about what football provides if you become a valuable, marquee player at your position...A nice mansion or 2, luxury cars, tailored suits, & a pretty wife. It's not all about crooked fingers, memory loss, countless surgeries, nerve damage, & bad knees. You knew what you signed up for. It's like smoking cigarettes. No one put a gun to your head & said buy a pack of tobacco every week. You can't just turn around & sue the Marlboro Company now.

[southwest1]

Were some athletes lied to about concussions & the severity of their injuries in previous decades? Sure they were. But, if you don't play, you lose your starting roster spot & there goes your game check & putting food on the table for your family. Just ask QB Alex Smith now in Kansas City...

 

I'm all for lifetime insurance benefits for former NFL players provided for by the owners & players association with no out of pocket expenses for punishment sustained on the field. What I am not for is former athletes thinking the NFL owes them a stipend or fiscal career after they retire from this great game. Spend & invest your money wisely. The NFL is not obligated to provide modern day athletes a safety net. The NFL is a profession that provides a healthy paycheck; It is not a retirement advisor or Red Cross good will charity organization IMO. 

[southwest1]

I would be curious what the NFL Rookie Symposium actually tells the new recruits beyond watch out for lewd women/gold diggers who want to bleed you dry financially. Other than a broadcasting boot camp for athletes who wanna pursue a career in the TV booth once they put their pads up for good; what real occupational avenues/post field opportunities do they provide? Is it like college career placement for soon to be graduates? A pathetic joke or do they actually care & take it seriously? I often wonder that myself...

This league needs to realize that off the field bright spots also extend to having retired athletes land softly on their feet with successful jobs after professional playing really ends. It's not just a young man's game in my estimation. Praise & success stories doesn't just end with a highlight reel of their best plays caught on film. Do you help retirees or push them off a cliff like damaged goods no one wants anymore?

[southwest1]

The NFL always advocates a teamwork, collective persona on the field, but once a player is no longer on an active roster what guidance do they provide retirees with to still make a living & protect their retirement nest egg?

 

I don't expect the NFL to pay retirees a check for living expenses, but I do expect them to furnish NFL retired veterans with post career opportunities or skill sets beyond an NFL playbook. That's smart business sense & a great public relations tool. Give these retirees options & a continued mechanism to earn another paycheck beyond the grid iron. Teaching a man to fish & be self reliant vs. making him co dependent on someone else for his survival after football is officially over. 

[NewColtsFan]

I always find it curious that professional athletes seldom speak about what football provides if you become a valuable, marquee player at your position...A nice mansion or 2, luxury cars, tailored suits, & a pretty wife. It's not all about crooked fingers, memory loss, countless surgeries, nerve damage, & bad knees. You knew what you signed up for. It's like smoking cigarettes. No one put a gun to your head & said buy a pack of tobacco every week. You can't just turn around & sue the Marlboro Company now.

 

 

I don't think players knew what they signed up for.....    things like early dementia and being unable to walk or pick up your children when they're little were not know when most players decided to play football for a living....

 

Much of this is very new stuff....

[southwest1]

We have all heard the phrase that an athlete has "filed retirement papers with the NFL Headquarters in NY." [The NFL Network needs to do a feature in depth TV segment on this component IMO.]

 

What exactly does that mean anyway? How elaborate is the paperwork involved? How long are retirees actually covered for & what the appeals process/ red tape truly entail? Hades, recently a 10 CBA was signed...What does it say about retirees, injuries, complications from surgeries, is rehab covered, & what if the rehab & physical therapy takes longer than expected? 

 

And why do disabled athletes who have medical documentation proving that their ailments are directly football related rejected several times before earning disability benefits? What is Goodell doing to shorten & streamline the process? Answer: Nothing. Translation: Goodell gets paid by the owners to throw up roadblocks so the owners don't have to pay out more money. Bloodsuckers...Sigh...Former athletes make these owners/league a multi-billion dollar industry & they are too darn cheap to tend to men who made them money & are now beaten down & physically broken...Sad, disgusting, & pathetic in my view...

[NewColtsFan]

I've heard this statement many times and I'm curious to see what others have to say about it: if football was invented in the year 2000, it would have been banned in 2001.  Do people agree?  Disagree?

 

 

I disagree and only have to point to the new world of MMA....   this crazy hybrid of boxing and wrestling and martial arts...

 

That's much more violent and dangerous than football and it's not being met with any calls for banning...  at least,  none that I'm aware of....

[21isSuperman]

I disagree and only have to point to the new world of MMA....   this crazy hybrid of boxing and wrestling and martial arts...

 

That's much more violent and dangerous than football and it's not being met with any calls for banning...  at least,  none that I'm aware of....

Aren't there multiple states that don't allow it?  I believe here in Canada, there are multiple provinces that do not allow it because it falls under the definition of assault.  Some provinces are working to change that, but that's why MMA events are usually held in Quebec and Ontario.  Is it similar in the US?

[NewColtsFan]

Aren't there multiple states that don't allow it?  I believe here in Canada, there are multiple provinces that do not allow it because it falls under the definition of assault.  Some provinces are working to change that, but that's why MMA events are usually held in Quebec and Ontario.  Is it similar in the US?

 

 

Honestly?    I have no idea....

 

I don't follow it at all....      all I know is it's incredibly popular and seemingly growing at a stunning pace.....

[southwest1]

I don't think players knew what they signed up for.....    things like early dementia and being unable to walk or pick up your children when they're little were not know when most players decided to play football for a living....

 

Much of this is very new stuff....

I will concede that there is much about the brain & spinal cord injuries/nerve damage that is still unknown NCF. No argument there. But much of this Goodell safety campaign has very little to do with player safety & more to do with tort reform by lawyers & reducing or eliminating class action lawsuits by getting these cases heavily watered down or thrown out completely. The idea here is to minimize punitive damages & pain & suffering. Prevent the owners from having to open up their checkbooks period. This protect the youth of America football movement is a public relations bait & switch the topic campaign while the NFL continues to crush & squash the veterans of this game with lingering health issues. Don't forget about anti trust laws & the NFL either....

 

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2011/03/14/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-nfl-antitrust-lawsuit/

 

 

http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/about/history/SportsAntitrust.cfm

 

 

My overall thesis remains the same: The NFL is a gladiator sport resulting in physical punishment & side effects that show up years, even decades later, however all athletes know basically the brutality that their bodies will sustain as they play this sport. It is a mystery to no one. 

[NewColtsFan]

I will concede that there is much about the brain & spinal cord injuries/nerve damage that is still unknown NCF. No argument there. But much of this Goodell safety campaign has very little to do with player safety & more to do with tort reform by lawyers & reducing or eliminating class action lawsuits by getting these cases heavily watered down or thrown out completely. The idea here is to minimize punitive damages & pain & suffering. Prevent the owners from having to open up their checkbooks period. This protect the youth of America football movement is a public relations bait & switch the topic campaign while the NFL continues to crush & squash the veterans of this game with lingering health issues. Don't forget about anti trust laws & the NFL either....

 

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2011/03/14/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-nfl-antitrust-lawsuit/

 

 

http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/about/history/SportsAntitrust.cfm

 

 

My overall thesis remains the same: The NFL is a gladiator sport resulting in physical punishment & side effects that show up years, even decades later, however all athletes know basically the brutality that their bodies will sustain as they play this sport. It is a mystery to no one. 

 

We are mostly in agreement....   but the last part, where you write that it's a mystery to know one is not correct.   While the players know it's brutal,  we're only now finding out just how brutal.

 

When players are committing suicide by shooting themselves in the heart rather than the head and leaving notes asking that their brains be studied,  you know something is just not right.   No one signs up for that.

 

When the Steelers Hall of Fame Center Mike Webster wandered the streets of Pittsburgh as a homeless man because of early on-set dementia,  you know something is not right.   And the Steelers and the NFL denied him special benefits.

 

The NFL had a pretty good idea of the severity of concussions and other injuries and hid it....   they've admitted as much in depositions....     the NFL is going to lose this case.    Where we agree is this massive NFL PR campaign.   It's design is in part to help lesson the size of the check the NFL is eventually going to write to the players.   The NFL is now trying to show they're doing everything they can to make the game safe.    But, it's going to be a big check.

 

The question is $500 Mill vs. $1 Bill?     Or $1 Bill vs. $2 Bill.    But the owners are going to have to write a very large check to the players....    I don't know when,  but I believe it's going to happen.

 

I think we're in more agreement than disagreement....     Hope that clarifies....

[southwest1]

I've heard this statement many times and I'm curious to see what others have to say about it: if football was invented in the year 2000, it would have been banned in 2001.  Do people agree?  Disagree?

I disagree. Boxing is incredibly brutal & that feature is an enormous draw to that sport. Many symbolic themes are displayed in a boxing match round by round: masculinity, endurance, animal like instincts to devour your opponent, virility, sexuality, a chiseled physique like a greek god, & a dominant knockout establishing who really is king of this roped, boxing jungle.

 

Promoter Don King is still going strong & making money hands over fist in this sporting realm & football's violent collisions are a huge appeal to it's following & mass international following as well. Potential injury makes the NFL unsafe, appealing, & satisifying. It will never be banned ever IMO.

 

Good question 21isSuperman! Well done!

[southwest1]

We are mostly in agreement....   but the last part, where you write that it's a mystery to know one is not correct.   While the players know it's brutal,  we're only now finding out just how brutal.

 

When players are committing suicide by shooting themselves in the heart rather than the head and leaving notes asking that their brains be studied,  you know something is just not right.   No one signs up for that.

 

When the Steelers Hall of Fame Center Mike Webster wandered the streets of Pittsburgh as a homeless man because of early on-set dementia,  you know something is not right.   And the Steelers and the NFL denied him special benefits.

 

The NFL had a pretty good idea of the severity of concussions and other injuries and hid it....   they've admitted as much in depositions....     the NFL is going to lose this case.    Where we agree is this massive NFL PR campaign.   It's design is in part to help lesson the size of the check the NFL is eventually going to write to the players.   The NFL is now trying to show they're doing everything they can to make the game safe.    But, it's going to be a big check.

 

The question is $500 Mill vs. $1 Bill?     Or $1 Bill vs. $2 Bill.    But the owners are going to have to write a very large check to the players....    I don't know when,  but I believe it's going to happen.

 

I think we're in more agreement than disagreement....     Hope that clarifies....

A very nice reply NCF! Well articulated my friend! I respect your debating skills tremendously NCF & I can tell you are a very skilled reporter. I do enjoy our memorable debates. Thank you.  

[Hans Moleman]

I always find it curious that professional athletes seldom speak about what football provides if you become a valuable, marquee player at your position...A nice mansion or 2, luxury cars, tailored suits, & a pretty wife. It's not all about crooked fingers, memory loss, countless surgeries, nerve damage, & bad knees. You knew what you signed up for. It's like smoking cigarettes. No one put a gun to your head & said buy a pack of tobacco every week. You can't just turn around & sue the Marlboro Company now.

 

There's some very good debate going on in this thread. I see your point, and let's not forget, though, that if the NFL had admitted the dangers of the sport instead of hiring doctors to deny it, the players wouldn't have a leg to stand on. The league didn't want to do that because it would've been bad for business- can't have it both ways.

 

To me, the bigger problem is that the lower levels of football typically echo what the NFL does. How to handle injuries, how concussions were treated (ie, they weren't), and the dangers of the sport weren't disclosed at the young ages they needed to be (both to the kids and the parents). I can vouch for this from personal experience (never in the NFL, but I played a bit). The more damning aspect to me than the professionals having some wool pulled over their eyes are the middle and high school kids who've suffered permanently debilitating injuries or death because the schools didn't know how to handle concussions and the issue was so downplayed.

 

By the time a player makes it to the NFL, many guys are already feeling "locked in" to football- but the initial choice to start playing generally came as a kid, when an adult encouraged us to join either outright or by being football fans themselves. That's why the NFL being in denial mode until Congress stepped in a couple years ago was so insidious- it wasn't just millionaire pro adults who paid the price for their denial. A lot of young athletes who were told differently paid a steep toll, as well. From 2000-2010, 37 high schoolers died directly from football (not counting heat stroke, dehydration, etc), most from second impact syndrome because they were put back in the game too soon after suffering a concussion and got hit again.

[Poster X]

Sports are dangerous, but so is walking down the street in this day and age. You have to go into it knowing that taking too many shots will not be good for you in the long run. No matter which one you play. I knew as a 10 kid who played 3 years of little league baseball to walk away after seeing kids get cleated in the face, getting hit by pitches (multiple times), and suffering other various injuries. The mentality back then was just to get up and walk it off. I couldn't imagine playing it, or any other sport today do to the simple fact that the athletes are much bigger/stronger. Fortunately they are getting around to changing the old "you will be ok" aspect... even if it is a little late.    

 

 

 

 I did manage to win a championship in my final year.

[Pombi9]

I disagree and only have to point to the new world of MMA....   this crazy hybrid of boxing and wrestling and martial arts...

 

That's much more violent and dangerous than football and it's not being met with any calls for banning...  at least,  none that I'm aware of....

UFC is a brutal exhibition of machismo with no place in the modern world. It’s gory, and bloodthirsty and no better than watching a car wreck as it happens. It brings out the worst in its audience and should be banned for encouraging violence. - John Mccain.

Many politicans have called for its ban including that quote above from a former presidential candidate. Not only did he speak poorly of the UFC and MMA but he led a campaign to ban it due to his belief that it encouraged violence.

That being said, I still do not disagree with your view, it is significantly more violent.

[NewColtsFan]

UFC is a brutal exhibition of machismo with no place in the modern world. It’s gory, and bloodthirsty and no better than watching a car wreck as it happens. It brings out the worst in its audience and should be banned for encouraging violence. - John Mccain.

Many politicans have called for its ban including that quote above from a former presidential candidate. Not only did he speak poorly of the UFC and MMA but he led a campaign to ban it due to his belief that it encouraged violence.

That being said, I still do not disagree with your view, it is significantly more violent.

 

 

Thanks for that.....   good catch....   I didn't know about McCain....   props to him,  though I'd be surprised if his call is heeded....

 

Too many businesses and too many people are making too much money in the sport.    Unfortunately,  someone is going to have to die or get paralyzed before something happens....   and even that may not be enough....