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49ers Chris Borland retires!!!

That's a real shame. I would assume most guys in the NFL dream about getting there their entire lives. Then to get there, have a great rookie season and have it end this way. Despite being a card carrying Niner Hater, I feel bad for the young man.
 
Nothing to feel bad about. He is choosing to walk away. His current health has nothing to do with this decision. The fear about what his future health might be is why he is retiring. As a football fan it sucks to see a good player walk away from the game but as a former player I understand. He doesnt think continuing his playing career is worth the risk of potentially ruining his life. I am sure the self satisfaction of knowing he got to the highest level and was successful is enough for him. Good for him.
 
A tough decision and different for each individual. Apparently there is more to this story though as is often the case.
Chris Borland is from a wealthy family and his father owns a financial firm which I believe several other family members are also involved. Prior to the 2014 season Chris expressed to family & friends that it was likely he would only play 1 year in the NFL. Why would he state this? Due to a severe fear of brain injury or simply due to the fact he has other options to make $$ doing something else? His father discouraged all of his son's from playing football due to the risk of injuries and Chris was the only one to play the sport

For most players at the HS or college level playing in the NFL IS the dream. For almost all players from lower or middle class families there are no other options for making the big $$ unless of course you come from a wealthy family. I am not quite convinced that Chris chose to quit the NFL for fear of brain damage rather than he simply has other options of which his father is quite pleased.

I guess the question is whether the risk is worth the reward & for almost all players that answer currently remains simply "yes".
Whether that continues is how much the press fuels brain injuries because of the sport and if an atmosphere of fear is created among the public & their son's playing the sport.
 
Another thing to consider is the position he plays. Linebackers, safeties and running backs probably have the most head injuries than any other positions. Linemen probably have the least.
 
What some sportscasters are now saying is that Chris Borland did not actually retire, he simply quit playing football.
An issue has already come up as to a sizeable cash signing bonues Borland received upon signing a multi-year deal with the 49ers last year & whether he will have to give it back. The reasoning is whether any college player could simply sign a multi-year contract & receive say a $10-15 million dollar signing bonus & then quit after 1 season. Will be interesting to see how the 49ers handle that issue.
 
Niner Tim Ryan, broadcaster commented later that 1 year = quit, 5 years = retire.

Borland received a 617,000 signing bonus. I would imagine since it was a 4 year deal, he'd just give back the prorated amount, there have been owners taking players to court over these issues. So there is some precedent. There have been issues with the IRS, in terms of cash basis tax, where the player had already paid the tax on the bonus, the team would then just get the portion minus the tax.
 
Hard to imagine them making a big deal over $463,077 (3/4 of signing bonus). That money does count against the cap in dead money but its not very much. I would guess the less press they can get the better.

Tim Ryan is right. He did quit football. He didnt have an injury that forced him to walk away. He is choosing to do so. Ryan didnt say anything bad about Borland. He actually did nothing but praise the guy in his interview with KNBR.

Borlands family is very wealthy so I dont think him playing football was ever money driven. Hes a good kid who cares more about his future health cant fault him for that.

This post was edited on 3/18 2:43 PM by thehookup55
 
Read in the paper this morning thst Borland is returning 3/4 of his signing bonus. That's the tight thing to do and it frees up some salary cap space.
 
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