Green Bay Packers B.J. Raji RETIRING at age 29?

[ronandkay]

As Vince Lombardi was heard saying, "What the hell is going on out there?"

UPDATE: Contrary to some of the replies to this post, it is not for Raji's health concerns, rather it's his mother & or Aunt's health is the reason he is taking a "hiatus" from the Packers & the NFL in 2016.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/packers-dl-b-j-raji-says-hiatus-2016-191527437--nfl.html

 

[awd4cy]

Guys are doing it more and more at a young age. You are going to see this a lot in the future.

 

[MNCyGuy]

I think you'd have to really have your head in the sand to not see this trend coming. Guys are going to keep cutting careers short while they think they can still maintain some quality of life in retirement.

 

[awd4cy]

I think you'd have to really have your head in the sand to not see this trend coming. Guys are going to keep cutting careers short while they think they can still maintain some quality of life in retirement.

Yep. Make more than enough to live off of a few years and get out.

 

[tim_redd]

They see all the old players now that aren't able to walk or talk or remember things that happened 5 minutes ago.

 

[Al_4_State]

Make your cash money, invest wisely, and move on with life. This will be the new norm and it's better than the game dying.

 

[3TrueFans]

Get in, get paid, get out before you're a vegetable.

 

[awd4cy]

Make your cash money, invest wisely, and move on with life. This will be the new norm and it's better than the game dying.

Unfortunately I think the game will be hurt a lot. Tyler Sash's autopsy proved you don't have to play football till your 35 to have severe CTE. It's all going to start with a huge drop in participation at the high school football level I'm afraid.

 

[ISUAgronomist]

Also makes it better for the college players that don't get a chance due to people sticking around forever taking up salary capacity.

 

[CTTB78]

I thought Raji was quoted as saying he is just sitting out 'this year'?

 

[jsb]

Unfortunately I think the game will be hurt a lot. Tyler Sash's autopsy proved you don't have to play football till your 35 to have severe CTE. It's all going to start with a huge drop in participation at the high school football level I'm afraid.

I guess I don't see it as unfortunate. I love football, but I can't help but feel like a hypocrite supporting a sport that is clearly dangerous to its participants. I don't think I'd let my kid play football. And I certainly wouldn't blame anyone for quitting the sport.

 

[tm3308]

Unfortunately I think the game will be hurt a lot. Tyler Sash's autopsy proved you don't have to play football till your 35 to have severe CTE. It's all going to start with a huge drop in participation at the high school football level I'm afraid.

That's going to be the real "death" blow to the sport (it'll survive, but not likely as the king of American sports), but it'll be years before we see the effects of that. In the meantime, more and more players who already have skin in the game will retire early, which will only keep reinforcing the fact that the game is dangerous, and keep parents skittish about having their children play.

 

[Guetterdone1]

I'm sorry but not allowing your kid to play football is incredibly unfair to the kid and naive. I played football through ninth grade and switched over to soccer because most of my friends where there. While I was in soccer I had my head split open from someone kicking me and I shattered a finger (Still have two pins). I had nothing in football besides a few sprained fingers. Injuries happen in all sports and it's a part of growing up. 99% of us won't play anything past high school and denying your kid social activities like football isn't fair to him.

I will never regret playing those sports because it's where I learned a lot of life lessons and I met a lot of friends and different people in the community and across the state. We need to stop judging football based off the few pros that played until they were 30. There are countless examples of basketball players that can't walk when they're 50, but they'll tell you they wouldn't give it up for anything.

Pretty soon all our kids will be relegated to going home and sitting on the couch.

 

[3TrueFans]

I'm sorry but not allowing your kid to play football is incredibly unfair to the kid and naive. I played football through ninth grade and switched over to soccer because most of my friends where there. While I was in soccer I had my head split open from someone kicking me and I shattered a finger (Still have two pins). I had nothing in football besides a few sprained fingers. Injuries happen in all sports and it's a part of growing up. 99% of us won't play anything past high school and denying your kid social activities like football isn't fair to him.

I will never regret playing those sports because it's where I learned a lot of life lessons and I met a lot of friends and different people in the community and across the state. We need to stop judging football based off the few pros that played until they were 30. There are countless examples of basketball players that can't walk when they're 50, but they'll tell you they wouldn't give it up for anything.

Pretty soon all our kids will be relegated to going home and sitting on the couch.

Couldn't get past the bolded statement.

 

[tm3308]

I'm sorry but not allowing your kid to play football is incredibly unfair to the kid and naive. I played football through ninth grade and switched over to soccer because most of my friends where there. While I was in soccer I had my head split open from someone kicking me and I shattered a finger (Still have two pins). I had nothing in football besides a few sprained fingers. Injuries happen in all sports and it's a part of growing up. 99% of us won't play anything past high school and denying your kid social activities like football isn't fair to him.

I will never regret playing those sports because it's where I learned a lot of life lessons and I met a lot of friends and different people in the community and across the state. We need to stop judging football based off the few pros that played until they were 30. There are countless examples of basketball players that can't walk when they're 50, but they'll tell you they wouldn't give it up for anything.

Pretty soon all our kids will be relegated to going home and sitting on the couch.

You're missing the point. Pretty much every athlete has gone into it knowing that bruises, cuts, sprains, and broken bones could be part of the deal. Those you can live with; if you play long enough, that can make it difficult to walk or do other things in later life. But those injuries are nothing compared to the potential for life-altering brain damage that is now known to be associated with playing football. But yeah, let's keep the kids playing football because of the slippery slope argument.

 

[Rural]

And yet another adjustment of the rules of the game.

When that starts happening on a yearly basis, the end is near.

 

[Wesley]

They see all the old players now that aren't able to walk or talk or remember things that happened 5 minutes ago.

Quit talking about Joe Montana. He was a god.

 

[jbhtexas]

Also makes it better for the college players that don't get a chance due to people sticking around forever taking up salary capacity.

This. Players retiring earlier will drive bigger salaries down to the younger players, which will entice more people to play the game. Football isn't going anywhere.

 

[Jordanj6502]

It would be nice to able to retire at 29.

 

[Guetterdone1]

You're missing the point. Pretty much every athlete has gone into it knowing that bruises, cuts, sprains, and broken bones could be part of the deal. Those you can live with; if you play long enough, that can make it difficult to walk or do other things in later life. But those injuries are nothing compared to the potential for life-altering brain damage that is now known to be associated with playing football. But yeah, let's keep the kids playing football because of the slippery slope argument.

Like I said 99% of us won't play football after high school and I had a concussion in soccer and have seen it in other sports like baseball and rugby. I'm sure the ball players didn't sign up for being in wheel chairs by the time they're done. There are plenty of cases where guys issues aren't concussion or head related