What will this mean for the future of football?

[Cowboys_22]

Ha! I would be happy not to be wearing depends. I will have my wooden jacket on long before 30 yrs..

Why do they call it depends anyway?
If I need something in 30 years, I hope it's Dependable

 

[CWR]

Man thats awful. Money talks though, I cant imagine the NFL going away. They will probably do thier best to make advances with helmets (which only goes so far) and change rules to minimize those type of hits even further.

If athletes begin to see and digest this information maybe we will see shorter careers and less interest in kids coming up as they gravitate towards other sports, maybe.

I think at the end of the day many will consider the risk and play anyways. If the NFL ever does fold up it will be because with the new rules and less talent the product goes to crap and consumers have lost interest.

 

[haleyrules]

another reason why there needs to be no cap or at the very least a soft cap. pay the players more and while the sports will still be dangerous at least they will be compensated

.

 

[haleyrules]

Man thats awful. Money talks though, I cant imagine the NFL going away. They will probably do thier best to make advances with helmets (which only goes so far) and change rules to minimize those type of hits even further.

If athletes begin to see and digest this information maybe we will see shorter careers and less interest in kids coming up as they gravitate towards other sports, maybe.

I think at the end of the day many will consider the risk and play anyways. If the NFL ever does fold up it will be because with the new rules and less talent the product goes to crap and consumers have lost interest.

The league could considerably increase the size of rosters also.

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

Man thats awful. Money talks though, I cant imagine the NFL going away. They will probably do thier best to make advances with helmets (which only goes so far) and change rules to minimize those type of hits even further.

If athletes begin to see and digest this information maybe we will see shorter careers and less interest in kids coming up as they gravitate towards other sports, maybe.

I think at the end of the day many will consider the risk and play anyways. If the NFL ever does fold up it will be because with the new rules and less talent the product goes to crap and consumers have lost interest.

Yea more than likely. People will watch until the product isn't good anymore.

 

[TheCoolFan]

The NFL (and football) is here to stay. Even if they make it flag football, people will still love it. It's all about offense and scoring...flag football (or limited contact) will be all high-scoring games. A Fantasy Football lover's dream come true

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

The NFL (and football) is here to stay. Even if they make it flag football, people will still love it. It's all about offense and scoring...flag football (or limited contact) will be all high-scoring games. A Fantasy Football lover's dream come true

And fantasy football is why it will probably be okay. I don't play it but many do. They even have TV shows on it.

 

[T-RO]

I don't think a discovery like this will threaten the game, unless it's done in the courts.

I don't see congress stepping in. Politicians get a lot of donations from the NFL and a member of congress who tried to shut down the NFL would be very unpopular.

 

[haleyrules]

Yea more than likely. People will watch until the product isn't good anymore.

Its getting closer all the time. I have tried to watch games, in recent years, between clubs l had no emotional interest in and found them almost unwatchable...l mean those games were terrible. To me, it wasn't like that years ago. The competition and quality of the games was much better. Take the hitting out of football and it is dead.

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

Its getting closer all the time. I have tried to watch games, in recent years, between clubs l had no emotional interest in and found them almost unwatchable...l mean those games were terrible. To me, it wasn't like that years ago. The competition and quality of the games was much better. Take the hitting out of football and it is dead.

I used to watch football all day Sunday and Monday nights. I'm lucky if I watch 2 games on Sunday anymore. Usually go to bed at halftime on Sunday nights unless the Cowboys play. I won't even go into Monday who's games are terrible.

 

[Skillit]

Did the report say how many of them had symptoms? I read someplace about a brain that was examined--had the CTE damage, but the person never exhibited symptoms.
I assume it's like boxers......plenty of old, long term boxers lose it. Some don't. But I am sure even the boxer's who never went completely south still had brains that looked the part.

 

[robjay04]

NFL isn't going anywhere. There is way too much money to be made.

 

[revospeed]

Did the report say how many of them had symptoms? I read someplace about a brain that was examined--had the CTE damage, but the person never exhibited symptoms.
I assume it's like boxers......plenty of old, long term boxers lose it. Some don't. But I am sure even the boxer's who never went completely south still had brains that looked the part.

Yeah. A bunch of the guys that were named in the class action lawsuit against the NFL lived into their 80s and had successful post NFL careers. Not everyone who has CTE is going to turn into a suicidal lunatic.

 

[Plankton]

Have they examined the brains of non-football players to see how many had CTE? Would be interesting to see if the narrative changes if it's found in seemingly regular people.

 

[LocimusPrime]

I still love watching football cause it's better for me than hockey, baseball, or basketball.

 

[DandyDon1722]

The NY Times admitted the headline is a little sensationalized but the findings are still significant.

"The set of players posthumously tested by Dr. McKee is far from a random sample of N.F.L. retirees. “There’s a tremendous selection bias,” she has cautioned, noting that many families have donated brains specifically because the former player showed symptoms of C.T.E.

But 110 positives remain significant scientific evidence of an N.F.L. player’s risk of developing C.T.E., which can be diagnosed only after death. About 1,300 former players have died since the B.U. group began examining brains. So even if every one of the other 1,200 players would have tested negative — which even the heartiest skeptics would agree could not possibly be the case — the minimum C.T.E. prevalence would be close to 9 percent, vastly higher than in the general population."

 

[Longboysfan]

I'm always nervous that the NFL is down to its final 10-20 years

Doubtful - too much money.

 

[Longboysfan]

I would wish they did the brain tracking in every major contact sport.

 

[haleyrules]

I used to watch football all day Sunday and Monday nights. I'm lucky if I watch 2 games on Sunday anymore. Usually go to bed at halftime on Sunday nights unless the Cowboys play. I won't even go into Monday who's games are terrible.

Well, its a fact. The soup can only be watered down so much.

 

[haleyrules]

I still love watching football cause it's better for me than hockey, baseball, or basketball.

Yep. Hockey is a live game. It must be watched at the rink. Terrible TV game. Completely different in person. I used to go to a lot of games and go way up in the nosebleed seats and you could really see the plays develop. On TV you get very little feel for the game.