4 ms·

It's a trade-off and it's a tradeoff that a lot of NFL players are clearly becoming aware of but are willing to make. In some weird sense you can only appreciat

It's a trade-off and it's a tradeoff that a lot of NFL players are clearly becoming aware of but are willing to make. In some weird sense you can only appreciate them for making that tradeoff. Effectively, they are at 20 (with today's knowledge) given 15 years at the top of the most popular American sport. They make hundreds of millions in the process (possibly). By the time they are 40 or 50 they might be a vegetable or have committed suicide, but honestly how is that different than any other job? It's a decision they make for celebrity and money and competition - how many CEOs have killed themselves via overwork? On the other hand when Tony Dorsett says "I didn't expect the end to be like this", it does shock you to the core. And it's a sport that kids should not be playing. Football is a violent sport but that's what makes it magical....you can't have men that are 6 foot 6 and can run a 4.3 without it happening. But you can't get something that completely tactical and brutal without those dynamics. I'd hate for football to die. There's also genuinely good owners in the league; hate someone like Jerry Jones all you want but he has taken care of all of his former players and is one of the most giving people in the league. There's also some really brilliant and good front offices (New England or even Dallas with Will McClay). ....also regarding Kerr, he's had an amazing career. Bulls in the 90s, Spurs in the 00s (killed the Mavs in 03 WCF), then goes to Phoenix and helps build the Seven Seconds or Less Suns, now GS. And he was a pretty good analyst! Talk about a winner.

jmduke 10y ago
The median NFL salary is $1.9million. The median NFL career length is 3.5 years. If you're in the NFL for 15 years, you are an extremely fortunate outlier. I think the main difference between someone putting their health on the line as an NFL starter and as a CEO is that, as a CEO, you know what you're getting into. There has been, to my perception, a concerted effort to avoid educating football players about the risks they face and the precautions (financial and health) they need to take to ensure safety after their time in the league. I agree that there are great owners and individuals in the NFL; it's unfair of me to paint them all with the same brush.
- rqebmm 10y ago
  > you know what you're getting into This is the crux of it for me. The concussion/injury risks are an issue, but if you're informed, so be it. Bodily risk doesn't stop normal people from lots of things, from driving all the way to heliskiing, and for others it's something they actively seek out. If society has an avenue to reward it, then good for them. What bothers me is the league itself covering up those facts. It's meant thousands of young men put themselves at risk _unknowingly_ and that's reprehensible.
monkmartinez 10y ago
> By the time they are 40 or 50 they might be a vegetable or have committed suicide, but honestly how is that different than any other job? The premise of your question is deeply flawed. It is radically different. How many "young men" end up with broken bodies well before they make it to the big show? We just had a very young man at Univ. of Arizona (Kerr's alma mater) retire from basketball at 19 years old due to a 3rd tear of the ACL. How many TBI's does it take before we end something that is clearly bad for society? You can't legally double leg tackle a guy standing on the corner, nor can one legally ingest many substances. Yet, society allows this "trade off" because it is sport. The logic falls flat on its face.
- aaron-lebo 10y ago
  We allow a lot of things that are bad for society and even impact larger groups of people just as negatively. Cigarettes? We let people work jobs that break their bodies over decades. Manual labor? It's how the world works. These guys are at least getting rewarded for doing it....
  - monkmartinez 10y ago
    Cigarettes? We don't allow minors to legally have them, further they are taxed and regulated at great length. Also, there is a massive educational aspect warning everyone about the risks. Show me that with the American Football, please. Manual Labor? Ever heard of OSHA, MSHA, NIOSH, NIST? Just a few of the agencies looking after the well being of folks working manual labor. I work in a glorified blue collar job, we are regulated very tightly. We have presumptive cancer laws and you can't perform our job as a minor... most don't make it until they are well into their 20's.
    - aaron-lebo 10y ago
      Don't disagree with any of that (I said in the first post kids shouldn't play). But adults? If we start making more rules about what adults can or cannot do with their bodies we're gonna have to start drawing very arbitrary lines.

jmduke 10y ago

The median NFL salary is $1.9million. The median NFL career length is 3.5 years. If you're in the NFL for 15 years, you are an extremely fortunate outlier. I think the main difference between someone putting their health on the line as an NFL starter and as a CEO is that, as a CEO, you know what you're getting into. There has been, to my perception, a concerted effort to avoid educating football players about the risks they face and the precautions (financial and health) they need to take to ensure safety after their time in the league. I agree that there are great owners and individuals in the NFL; it's unfair of me to paint them all with the same brush.

rqebmm 10y ago
> you know what you're getting into This is the crux of it for me. The concussion/injury risks are an issue, but if you're informed, so be it. Bodily risk doesn't stop normal people from lots of things, from driving all the way to heliskiing, and for others it's something they actively seek out. If society has an avenue to reward it, then good for them. What bothers me is the league itself covering up those facts. It's meant thousands of young men put themselves at risk _unknowingly_ and that's reprehensible.

monkmartinez 10y ago

> By the time they are 40 or 50 they might be a vegetable or have committed suicide, but honestly how is that different than any other job? The premise of your question is deeply flawed. It is radically different. How many "young men" end up with broken bodies well before they make it to the big show? We just had a very young man at Univ. of Arizona (Kerr's alma mater) retire from basketball at 19 years old due to a 3rd tear of the ACL. How many TBI's does it take before we end something that is clearly bad for society? You can't legally double leg tackle a guy standing on the corner, nor can one legally ingest many substances. Yet, society allows this "trade off" because it is sport. The logic falls flat on its face.

aaron-lebo 10y ago
We allow a lot of things that are bad for society and even impact larger groups of people just as negatively. Cigarettes? We let people work jobs that break their bodies over decades. Manual labor? It's how the world works. These guys are at least getting rewarded for doing it....
- monkmartinez 10y ago
  Cigarettes? We don't allow minors to legally have them, further they are taxed and regulated at great length. Also, there is a massive educational aspect warning everyone about the risks. Show me that with the American Football, please. Manual Labor? Ever heard of OSHA, MSHA, NIOSH, NIST? Just a few of the agencies looking after the well being of folks working manual labor. I work in a glorified blue collar job, we are regulated very tightly. We have presumptive cancer laws and you can't perform our job as a minor... most don't make it until they are well into their 20's.
  - aaron-lebo 10y ago
    Don't disagree with any of that (I said in the first post kids shouldn't play). But adults? If we start making more rules about what adults can or cannot do with their bodies we're gonna have to start drawing very arbitrary lines.