He doesn't give a shit. He made his millions, got out when he could still walk, and has a bright future ahead of him doing what he loves and is gifted at. From the one NFL player that I have talked to, he told me that he didn't know a single player in the NFL that still liked football. It's just a better paying job than they can find anywhere else.
During games, yes. But games are less than 1% of an NFL player's life. The physical demands are just ridiculous, and the long-term health effects are brutal. That's why the smart ones like Barber, Robert Smith, and Barry Sanders make their money and get out before they are too damaged.
Yeah but you said the 1 player you have talked to said he doesnt know 1 single player that still liked football. Thats a ridiculous statement. All you have to do is look at guys like Jerry Rice, Brett Favre, Vinny Testaverde and etc.... Those guys had nothing to prove late in their careers especially Rice but he hang on until he was the 4th or 5th option in the passing game. And even when players retire they still love the game, look how many players get into analysis. You could say they are doing it to stay in the public eye or to get another paycheck but its more to it than that. They still love the game and want to be around the game. Not every player of course but whoever that player was that told you that was definitely exaggerating to say the least
Hey, I didn't say it, I was only repeating what I was told. I don't find it that hard to believe, really. It's not like baseball, where they play a lazy game 162 days a year, and take a little batting practice before games. Football at that level is a little different than high school football. Most guys get injured to a degree that it is with them for the rest of their lives. It's a high price to pay. Best to invest your money and get the fuck out when you reach the point that you have more than enough money. Read Tim Green's book The Dark Side of the Game. He still loves the game, but paints a pretty accurate picture of what life is like playing in the NFL. It's a lot more than Monday Night Football under the lights. Loving the game and enjoying playing out the season are two different things.
Dead wrong. If he didn't give a shit he would not have bad mouthed the coach and ex team mate AFTER he left. Leaving wasn't the issue. It was watching his team succeed after he left and after he trashed them. With his ego you better believe this is pissing him off otherwise when he retired he would have kept his mouth shut about his ex team.
The guy was Bob Christian, and he's far from a moron. Has an engineering degree from Northwestern, and played in the NFL for a long time. It's not like he couldn't go earn a nice living using his degree. Have no idea what he's doing now, but I'm sure he made enough to retire on in his career. He paid a price for earning that money, though. I just had a very honest conversation with him, and was surprised at first at some of the things that he told me. But after thinking about it, it really isn't hard for me to believe him. I know he wasn't lying to me.
I heard Brian Cox in an interview talk about his life after his playing days. He said that he didn't get out of bed for months, and went into a deep depression. I think that the finality of being done hits everybody, when they close that chapter in their life, and turn their back on something that they have done their whole life. But that doesn't mean that they loved the grind everyday of being an NFL player.
To me, it just seems like this is a case of a guy that had enough money, didn't want to play anymore, and quit. Because he could. Nobody has ever said that playing for Coughlin was fun, and when he retired, he could speak more frankly. Everything is speculation as far as what he is feeling at this moment, but he doesn't strike me as a guy that is rooting for the Giants to lose, because it could possibly, indirectly, make him look better. If he is worried about how he is viewed as a player, he could always come back and play next year. But I don't think that is even a remote possibility. From everything I know about the guy, he's very intelligent, hardworking, and will likely have a long career in media, maybe not even in sports media.
