Fighton247 Board

Yep. I have to imagine that a tiered pension fund could be easily implemented.

The problem with the NFLPA...they want short-term gains without considering the long-term effects. How much of a players salary goes toward their own version of workmans comp?

Dunno if they already do this, but what about different helmets (thicker) for those high impact players?

Thicker wouldn't do much.

It would take a complete redesign of the helmet. There was an interesting prototype put out there that had many interlocking pieces. I can't remember how much testing had been done, but initial results were promising.

Forget the mousetrap....build a better football helmet, and you'll solve the NFL's multi-billion dollar problem.

It's an interesting idea, but I think you'd get players and teams hiding concussions so as not to lose valuable players too early in their career.

I think the NFL(not the team's Dr.) controls the medical evaluations now...pretty sure?

I think this is a key point, he never had a diagnosed concussion, but he still could have had a few that went untreated and undetected.

Possibly. I don't know the rules.

That might remove some of the incentive to hide concussions, but the league might still have its own incentive. Imagine some young NFL star, a top draft pick with lots of fans and sponsorships, is unlucky enough to get 2 concussions in his first season. You think the league is going to jump at the opportunity to diagnose him with a 3rd, thereby forcing him out of the league?

The league is a business and has interests that don't typically align with player safety, especially when we're talking in the long-term.

this is exaclty how I see it as well. I just cant imagine how these guys can ignore the past vets and their issues. with the size of the players and the speed of the game increasing yearly...surely something has to be done.

Im not one for mandatory retirement age, but I am a fan of the idea of better healthcare, pension and services for veterans. mandatory head checks (dont mean to lose you with my technical terms there) for players and vets would also be a step in the right direction. These guys are ina high risk - high reward career, for which they are paid handsomely. I dont think we should start creating new rules/penalties to deal with this. However, care and follow-ups should be part of their contracts (to which they should be forced to pay into). again, just my opinion.

I can get on board with much of what you're proposing. Whatever type of programs eventually get implemented, it's going to require a cultural change...there needs to be some sort of incentive dangled in front of them.

If I'm an 8-year vet that's played RB, LB, DL, etc,... I know that my career is coming to end sooner rather than later. I would also love to see some sort of program that helps me transition from egomaniac(not necessarily a negative connotation) to regular person; most of these guys have been BMOC since high school. Listening to some of the former pros, this seems to be a hard transition for some, and may lead to the depression issues that they're experiencing or have experienced.

Tough to say at this point if this is even related to brain trauma.

None of us really knows if he had business/personal/family/relationship/legal/financial related stresses that factored into his decision to take his own life.

Having said that, the brain related trauma issue is a very real problem that's not going away. Something needs to be done, and no cards should be off of the table.

I completely agree with you, but its a sad state of affairs when the game at both the Professional and the Collegiate level have been systematically trying to remove vicious hits, spearing, helmet to helmet contact, etc... and at the same time, many fans keep crying about the wussification of the modern era of football.