OT - 49ers (and Wisconsin) LB Chris Borland retires
http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/12496480/san-francisco-49ers-lin…
All of these retirements could have a serious impact on football in the coming years. More players will choose to not continue their careers due to the risk of permanent injury or disability.
March 16th, 2015 at 10:23 PM ^
Let's all take this time to stop, reflect, and point and laugh at Jed York and the 49ers.
March 16th, 2015 at 10:47 PM ^
pointing and laughing at the 49ers is one of the last things this makes me want to do.
March 16th, 2015 at 11:24 PM ^
Yeah, so my first thought isn't really taking a shot at the 49ers... Every story like this has a ripple effect. As current players, kids and parents see Chris Borland who was a burgeoning star walk away from NFL money and a starting job they wonder about playing in high school. It's kind of a huge deal. He is the fifth player under 30 this offseason to retire, five years ago CTE/concussions had barely entered cultural consciousness. Now, top players are walking away. I hope for selfish reasons that this isn't the start of a slow death for football or that it becomes a niche thing. This will be a big story...
Silver Lining: He might of retired with the greatest eight game career of all time.
March 16th, 2015 at 11:47 PM ^
I wonder if it is related.
Part of this is the financial/health tradeoff calculation, walking away from a stream of income in the tens of millions of dollars. But part of it has to be walking away from the largest endeavor in his life--the drive, the competition, the comraderie, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
I wonder how much of a role the declining emotional attractiveness of the 49ers situation played in Chris Borland's decision to focus on the intellectual financial/health tradeoff calculation.
March 16th, 2015 at 11:33 PM ^
March 16th, 2015 at 10:35 PM ^
The 49ers letting Harbaugh go may have been for the best for him. I guess it is possible some of this doesn't happen if Harbaugh is still there.
schadenfreude over a player retiring due to concern of living a high quality of life and not dieing early seems a bit pathetic
March 16th, 2015 at 11:06 PM ^
To be clear, I totally respect Chris and his decision, and good for him, everyone must decide for themselves what risks to bear or what careers they pursue. And I assume other football players will do this in the future. But that isn't the same as saying there is a choice between future brain health and playing football.You can do both things. And, so far, there is no study out there that indicates that olaying football increases your risk of permanent brain injury. There are studies that show linkage between repeated head trauma and injury, but that's not the same thing. The rates of brain injury are not higher for football players than the general population.
Just curious. If you believe it is that dangerous to future health, does it make you hesitate to endorse the game by rooting and watching?
You are telling me that you can't see the coorelation between football players and early onset dementia, head injury, depression, risk of suicide? I dont need a study to tell me what I can and can't see.
March 17th, 2015 at 10:37 AM ^
I'm saying there is no study that shows that football players suffer from dementia, suicide, depression etc at rates higher than any other group of people in society. Of course if you're a guy who's had several concussions you are at a much higher risk than others. But statistically, incidence is no higher among football players than soccer players, than children in playgrounds, than older americans who fall down (40% of all Brain injuries) etc. All these groups suffer these things at rates equal to or HIGHER than NFL players.
March 17th, 2015 at 12:10 PM ^
of course, there are studies, plus experts who have drawn that linkage. The question is whether anything can be done to make the sport safer. But thank you Mr. Goodell.
(At least in searching I cant find any). There are not studies that show that incidence of CTE is higher with football players than any other group. That's doesn;t mean that hard hits in football don't contribute to brain injury--but it does mean that football isn't a greater risk than any other activity.
March 16th, 2015 at 11:18 PM ^
Posted in the other thread: Good for him. This must be an incredibly difficult thing to do, given the incredible time and emotional investment in getting to exactly where he is now. Takes a lot of guts, and I admire him.
March 16th, 2015 at 11:31 PM ^
current thought here locally around santa clara is that eric reid cannot be too far behind. guy is a walking concussion.
March 17th, 2015 at 12:03 AM ^
March 17th, 2015 at 12:38 AM ^
I hate to say it, but I can see football potentially coming to an end in the next 50 years. I wouldn't let my son play football given what I know now, your brain is your most precious asset by far. Without it, you are not you.
I applaud though anyone at the top of their game willing to walk away knowing the risks are not worth the reward!
When you can just "know" everything in HS?
that the key to good health was to "smoke, drink, and above all, avoid exercise".
"I just honestly want to do what's best for my health," Borland told "Outside the Lines." "From what I've researched and what I've experienced, I don't think it's worth the risk."
I know he hasn't been the first to do this in recent years, but Borland is definitely one of the more significant names to make this move and at 24 year years of age too. I do wonder if - as awareness on the subject begins to become a more integrated part of culture in football - a lot more players will opt for shorter careers, especially after experiencing injury.
become a flag football league or better yet, merge with the lingerie football league.
March 17th, 2015 at 10:28 AM ^
What if it was Vince Wolfork in lingerie?
In 1969 this nation used a tin can strapped to a gigantic controlled explosion to land a man on the moon. Why in the hell haven't we been able to design a helmet or other protective gear to eliminate, or at least drastically reduce the number and severity of concussions in football?
Do the materials not yet exist? Is it a question of money? I know helmets have gotten better, but is seems like there's a long way to go.
The problem is the movement of the brain inside the skull, which is a result of how fast your head accelerates or decelerates, which material science can't affect much. The damaging impact is the impact between the brain and the skull, and Riddell can't put much padding there.
March 17th, 2015 at 10:20 AM ^
Schefter:
Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter
Chris Borland was scheduled to make $530K this year, plus $10K workout bonus. Not many jobs pay 24-year-olds $540K for 6 months of work.
Florio:
March 17th, 2015 at 11:45 AM ^
Pro Football Talk has a good app and occasionally gets a story first, that's about it. Florio is an idiot sometimes.
March 17th, 2015 at 11:54 AM ^
The NFL is NOT 6 month on 6 months off!
http://www.si.com/nfl/2014/12/10/tom-brady-new-england-patriots-age-fitness
March 17th, 2015 at 10:59 AM ^
That's too bad, as he had much potential, but hey, gotta look out for your well being first. This action is admirable on his part. He is foregoing the riches of the NFL for a "normal" job.
March 17th, 2015 at 11:06 AM ^
The health concerns amongst players is such that a very promising young player just passed up on millions and presumably his life's dream. I'd be concerned if I was in the league office
March 17th, 2015 at 12:26 PM ^
I met Chris a few times and I'm not surprised by this. He is a highly intelligent, thoughtful and serious kid. He made a mature decision and made it for the right reasons, but I'm sure it was also driven, in part, by the opportunities he will have outside of football. He sees himself as more than a football player and does not want to jeaopardize his life goals for 2-3 years of football. For that reason I can't see it having a domino effect among other players. It will trigger debate, but I doubt there are too many players with their entire careers ahead of them who are willing to give up the financial, ego and competitive rewards of the NFL for whatever plans they've made for after football (if any).
Also, the press may report he did this because he is already experiencing symptoms or cognitive deficiencies. Untrue. He did suffer a concussion at Wisconsin but at this point it was all about research and risk calculation.
March 17th, 2015 at 12:51 PM ^
I'm not that surprised by this. IMO you'll see more guys doing this, playing for a few seasons, getting some money, then quitting before they do serious harm to themselves.
a Tuf decision for Borland.