Chris Borland Retires From the NFL at 24
One year ago Chris Borland was a third round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers. Borland has a promising rookie campaign for the Niners starting 8 games racking up 84 tackles and two picks. The Niners already lost LB Patrick Willis to an early retirement and were counting on Borland to be a key piece of their Line backing corps in the future. However, at the age of 24 Borland is retiring after just one NFL season and his reasoning for this decision is the threat of sever head trauma.
"I just honestly want to do what's best for my health. From what I've researched and what I've experienced, I don't think it's worth the risk," he told Pro Football Talk. "I feel largely the same, as sharp as I've ever been, for me it's wanting to be proactive. I'm concerned that if you wait [until] you have symptoms, it's too late. ... There are a lot of unknowns. I can't claim that 'X' will happen. I just want to live a long healthy life, and I don't want to have any neurological diseases or die younger than I would otherwise."
After being drafted Borland signed a four year deal with a signing bonus of over $600,000. The 49ers can try to recover two thirds of that bonus money. He was set to make $800,000 for the next few years, but Borland looked to be one of those talents that could have made a lot of money in the NFL. However he felt that the risk of his long term health was greater than any amount of money.
Borland has joined a growing group of players under the age of 30 to retire prematurely from the game of football. If young players continue to make decisions like this one the game of football could forever be changed.
