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How much of that difference in life expectancy has to do with things like drugs, reckless driving, and weight struggles AFTER football? It's the lifestyle, not the game.
Jake Long not interested in giving Fins a discount..
- Thread starter Danny68
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The Omen
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wow this thread has turned to an interesting place. you do realize safety measures and such have vastly improved over the last 10-15 years right? these 55 year old former NFL players played 30 years ago or so. Times are a lot different then they are now.
madmic21
Active Roster
Very true! If people cared a little less about having everything this place would be a lot better. Its a combination of people not doing their part and people being greedy. If it leaned more towards a middle ground this world would be a lot better. Not saying that there aren't a lot of people doing their part, but the few as always, really spoil it.
jlfin
old pro
One has nothing to do with the other. You cite those statistics as if to suggest that playing professional football shortens life expectancy. The reality is that those NFL statistics are composed of a sampling of very large men, many of whom are morbidly obese (O-lineman, D-lineman). Many have sleep apnea (Reggie White). As they age, their body fat increases, which aggravates hypertension and which causes insulin resistance (leading to diabetes). Many of these deaths are due to complications from diabetes and hypertension i.e cardiac disease, stroke etc.
Take a good look at Vince Wilfork or even a young player like Chance Warmack. They are muscular, but also very fat.
jlfin
old pro
Some of you guys act as if Ryan was a consensus can't miss prospect (like Andrew Luck or even RG III). The Phins had the 1st pick in that draft and I don't recall any teams throwing offers at BP to get into position to draft Ryan (like the Redskins did with RG III). That draft was a lot like this one. KC can't trade out of the number 1 spot because there is no consensus number 1 pick . Joeckel (like Jake Long) is considered by many to be the top player in the draft. How was Ryan (coming out of BC after having thrown a lot of int's) a better prospect than Smith or Barkley?
Your argument proves my point. NFL players are pre despositioned to all of these complications because of the line of work.
Sorry to say but you are not playing in the NFL at certain positions unless you are a certain height and a certain weight. Most of which is UN-NATURAL to the human body. These men spend countless hours in the weight room pounding down every "natural" subtance known to man to get bigger, faster, and stronger. Some players are even fined if they do not meet certain weight requirements both over and under. That takes a massive toll on not only your cardiovascular system but your joins and muscles. And we wonder why so many former pro athletes live off of buckets of pain killers and become addicted to drugs and alcohol.
Don't get me wrong, this is the life they choose and yes there is plenty of pro athletes and NFL players that live a normal confortable life after retirement to a ripe old age. But STATISTICALLY they don't.
We could go further into the research and see the number of retired NFL players now have complications with joints, and concussions, and dementia etc.
NFL is a business plain and simple. So when a player doesn't take a hometown discount, its understandable.
Personally, I wouldn't take $20 mill and sacrafice 20 years of my life, and I'm only 26.
Putting it into prespective.
NFL contracts are no longer viewed as "OK, here is $6 mill a year to catch a football and run really fast".
Now it's "OK, here is $6 mill a year to catch a football and run really fast. And possibly lose years off your life, and develop brain problems which could lead to suicide and dementia by the time your 40, and joint issues forcing you to take 20+ pain killers a day just to walk around the block...etc etc"
Well hey, now that you put it that way I want $10 mill instead of $6 mill.
NFL contracts are no longer viewed as "OK, here is $6 mill a year to catch a football and run really fast".
Now it's "OK, here is $6 mill a year to catch a football and run really fast. And possibly lose years off your life, and develop brain problems which could lead to suicide and dementia by the time your 40, and joint issues forcing you to take 20+ pain killers a day just to walk around the block...etc etc"
Well hey, now that you put it that way I want $10 mill instead of $6 mill.
Dolphin Dave
Scout Team
He's been way overpaid the last few years yet I don't see him offering to refund any of that. Bye bye Jake.
jlfin
old pro
No. Genetics is a much more important factor. They didn't become big because they are in the NFL. They are in the NFL because they are big (you also can't play C in the NBA unless you are min 6'10"). The criteria required to play automatically selects out certain body types. In fact, some of these overweight players may have had an even shorter life expectancy if they didn't play sports.
jlfin
old pro
That's a bunch of hyperbole. There are many people who commit suicide every day who you never know about because they are not famous. There are other demanding professions that have high suicide rates compared to the general population. There have been thousands of men who have played in the NFL the last several decades and I can't think of any who developed "dementia" in their 40's. Obviously, certain positions (RB, LB) probably have higher risk, but nowhere near the risk of a professional boxer. With respect to arthritic problems, that can happen with any contact sport and its a risk those players willingly take in order to achieve fame and financial success.
While this thread went to an interesting place, you guys are over-complicating things.
It's simply a business. Teams look out for their interests and players must look out for theirs. There is rarely the loyalty that we associate with football days past. You see it here and there, but I can tell you the Dolphins are not an organization (of late) that fosters that loyalty.
Not to mention the role agents have in all of this. And Jake is married, so obviously you've got her in his ear too. And finally you're asking a proud man to admit he's not as good anymore and take a pay cut? That very quickly turns into "F them Jake, they don't appreciate you, let's go somewhere that does..." at home.
It's simply a business. Teams look out for their interests and players must look out for theirs. There is rarely the loyalty that we associate with football days past. You see it here and there, but I can tell you the Dolphins are not an organization (of late) that fosters that loyalty.
Not to mention the role agents have in all of this. And Jake is married, so obviously you've got her in his ear too. And finally you're asking a proud man to admit he's not as good anymore and take a pay cut? That very quickly turns into "F them Jake, they don't appreciate you, let's go somewhere that does..." at home.
Will you drop this whole, "lose 20 years off your life thing." All you can do is live the healthiest life you can if you want to live long. A long, free of complication life is no guarantee, no matter what sport you play, what job you have, what healthy foods you eat. What is guaranteed is money. I would take money over some unlikely chance i die of a heart attack 20 yrs before im "supposed" to die.
DeathStar
Hall Of Famer
The end of an error...
ChrisEAS
Active Roster
seeing as how Albert and Vollmer are available in FA's, and a guy like Eric Fisher will probably be there for us when we draft...I say Ireland should tell Jake NOW that he needs to take a cut to 7 million a year, or hes gone. I would gladly grab Vollmer and plug him at RT, and put Martin at LT. Martin will flunk a bit, but he'll get better.