Golden Nuggets: Health Over Money

Mondays usually mark the beginning of a new week. Due to the news from last week about their team, the Niners fans were thankful for the start of a new week of free agency. And then......BAM! Monday night came with news that ILB Chris Borland is retiring from football. At the age of 24! If Patrick Willis' retirement decision came as a shock, this had to top that.

Chris Borland is taking the tough decision of retiring from the game he has played all his life. He cites living with brain issues after a career in the NFL as the reason. It's a tough decision for him I'm sure. He's walking away from the possibility of making millions of dollars that were coming to him. He showed huge promise last season as a rookie and was a candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year in just half a season. He was rated the 4th best ILB in the NFL. He was a tackling machine and the defense didn't miss a beat with Bowman and Willis out. To walk away must have taken a lot of time to make that decision. Most people would not walk away from that.

With this decision, the NFL may have a growing issue. It's not a crisis, but something that they have to take notice. A player that just made it to the NFL is deciding to leave football rather than deal with the brain damage that football gives players after they leave the game. The NFL is still the king of sports in the U.S., but it could grow to be a big issue. But there are many players ready to take Borland's position on the team. The NFL will not be going away for awhile. It just has an issue that could slowly grow bigger.

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