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Ravens OL John Urschel, 26, retires abruptly, two days after CTE study

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Re: Ravens OL John Urschel, 26, retires abruptly, two days after CTE study

#221

Post by gumby »

paulddraper wrote: post #117
aresant wrote: post #65

A few colorful facts to the story here: 1) 3 years of service vests into NFL pension plan, he just hit qualification - value pegged at $21,360 a year for life (3) 2) He has not publicly commented on his retirement or reasons for it. 3) He has a hugely awesome secondary option - doctorate of math at MIT 4) He was at end of his rookie contract, next year would be the "in the money" year for him so he is clearly leaving…

> after tax is 7 figures but still not a lot What exactly is "a lot of money" (and how much do you think MIT professors are paid)? I think point #6 is more relevant than point #5.

> and how much do you think MIT professors are paid?

Depends a lot on department and situation. Course 18 (math) doesn't pay that great while course 6 does. If you have a chair you can pay yourself more; if you take a non-academic role (dean, provost, department head etc) you can get more. Even when you have tenure you get reviews and raises just like any other job.

Point of reference: my gf's ex is a tenured prof in a non-engineering field. B/c child support etc I know what he earns. Adjusted for inflation, my summer consulting gigs (before the 1980s AI winter) earned me over 50% of what he makes all annually including his own summer consulting. I'm sure if he were in computer science he'd make more in a month than I would have made all year.

Re: Ravens OL John Urschel, 26, retires abruptly, two days after CTE study

#222

Post by rpearl »

ApolloFortyNine wrote: post #150
luckydata wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't you think any kind of challenge in a team setting would have provided the same growth without the side effect of possibly irreversible brain damage? I'm happy you like football, but I don't think you can say it forms character in a unique way, it's just a team sport and there's tons of team sport where hitting people with your head aren't the bread and butter of it. Try volleyball, if you have to fuck up someth…

"Just a team sport" No other sport works you as hard as Football does. Between three-a-days (practicing 8am to 8pm) for weeks, and each practice primarily consisting of basically playing football (running play after play, at 100%, for practice, with tackling), Football works you harder than any other sport. I'll get told by some this is just my opinion, but the vast majority of other sports are not shear tests of str…

For swimming at a college level, we got up at about 4:30, swam 5-7, lifted 7-8, then classes, then swam 4-6, then stretches/bodyweight exercises.

This was while classes were in session.

During the winter training trip, we would do the same, but also swam sprints in the middle of the day.

Sometimes other teams, including the football team, would try to use the pool for off-sport workouts. We would crush them. But when we ran, they would not outrun us.

And that's just one sport I have personal experience with. Please do not discount what other athletes are doing--any sport is an intentionally competitive environment, everyone is looking to gain advantage: that push to go harder is present and is not exclusive to football.

Re: Ravens OL John Urschel, 26, retires abruptly, two days after CTE study

#223

Post by maxxxxx »

aresant wrote: post #65

A few colorful facts to the story here: 1) 3 years of service vests into NFL pension plan, he just hit qualification - value pegged at $21,360 a year for life (3) 2) He has not publicly commented on his retirement or reasons for it. 3) He has a hugely awesome secondary option - doctorate of math at MIT 4) He was at end of his rookie contract, next year would be the "in the money" year for him so he is clearly leaving…

"Over three years he "only" earned ~$1.8m http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/baltimore-ravens/john-urschel-145.... - which after tax is 7 figures but still not a lot"

For a lot of us this would be FU money if you don't have the desire to live big. Plus he gets the pension.

Re: Ravens OL John Urschel, 26, retires abruptly, two days after CTE study

#224

Post by lotsofpulp »

sillysaurus3 wrote: post #210
ChuckMcM wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is the secret to happiness as far as I am concerned; measure your days by how much you've learned not by how much you have earned. Interesting to know about the retirement 'vest' of 3 years. If he lives another 60 years that is a bit more than $1.25M.

That is the secret to happiness as far as I am concerned; measure your days by how much you've learned not by how much you have earned. Yet the vast majority of the time, this sentiment comes from people who are well-off, e.g. someone with an MIT PhD and an almost impossible-to-screw-up future. There are at least two possibilities. Either people who aren't well-off are just sour grapes, or they deal with a lot more t…

It's security. Money (currently a proxy for power) can provide you with the ease of mind that if you fall ill, if someone you care about is injured, then you can get them the best care, that you can take time off to help them. Similarly, it helps to feel as if you have people who are also secure so that they can be there for you too.

Re: Ravens OL John Urschel, 26, retires abruptly, two days after CTE study

#225

Post by tomtheelder »

ApolloFortyNine wrote: post #133
jdelaney wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dr. McKee, the study's author, acknowledged that and addressed it: > 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 had tested negative — which even the heartiest skeptics would agree could…

But it should not be unexpected for the number to be higher. For years people who weigh hundreds of pounds are hitting each other repeatedly. And they are paid considerably well for it. Plus, we should compare this to other sports as well, as even most non-contact sports (soccer, basketball, even baseball) have collisions from time to time. Football should have a higher percentage than those, but without knowing the…

> The real issue would arise if they can somehow test high school students and find similarly high percentages (90+ percent), but since you can't test right now until they are deceased (from what I understand), that would be extremely hard to do.

I think that's seriously downplaying the issue.

Let's say hypothetically HS football players are developing it at 10% vs 1% in the general population. That alone would be a massive discovery, and grounds for seriously reworking or even eliminating HS football. You don't need these rates to be in the 90% range for this to be game changing, so to speak.

Re: Ravens OL John Urschel, 26, retires abruptly, two days after CTE study

#226

Post by claystu »

nikofeyn wrote: post #191
brandall10 wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's worth reading his 2015 article "Why I Still Play Football": https://www.theplayerstribune.com/why-i-play-football/ . Regarding mathematics as a career and his outlook on the financial issue - "I have a bright career ahead of me in mathematics. Beyond that, I have the means to make a good living and provide for my family, without playing football. I have no desire to try to accumulate $10 million in the bank; I a…

> "i ... live on less than $25k a year." there's no way i can believe that. my rent alone is $24,000.

I believe it. If he owns everything free and clear--I'm betting he does--and he avoids big purchases and fancy trips, he can basically get by on purchasing nothing but food, electricity, phone, and gas. Tack on some clothes and reasonable eating out, and you can live well on $25,000 per year. Everything else was probably paid for by the team.

Re: Ravens OL John Urschel, 26, retires abruptly, two days after CTE study

#227

Post by marme »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #184
brandall10 wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's worth reading his 2015 article "Why I Still Play Football": https://www.theplayerstribune.com/why-i-play-football/ . Regarding mathematics as a career and his outlook on the financial issue - "I have a bright career ahead of me in mathematics. Beyond that, I have the means to make a good living and provide for my family, without playing football. I have no desire to try to accumulate $10 million in the bank; I a…

That is the secret to happiness as far as I am concerned; measure your days by how much you've learned not by how much you have earned. Interesting to know about the retirement 'vest' of 3 years. If he lives another 60 years that is a bit more than $1.25M.

nfl players cant start collecting that pension until they are 55

Re: Ravens OL John Urschel, 26, retires abruptly, two days after CTE study

#228

Post by mmmrtl »

srj wrote: post #149
geophile wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, the NFL should shut down. Yes, it is worse than the 3rd world child labor scenario. The kid in the 3rd world probably has no other choices, and along with his peers, may actually be improving things for his society. Nicholas Kristof (of all people) pointed this out when it was found that someone documenting the horrible conditions at Foxconn fabricated melodramatic stories. (This was a big kerfuffle on This Amer…

How is it fair to the people who want to sign up for it that you're making the decision for them? There's no social ill conferred on the greater public by their decision, what's the reason for meddling in their lives?

The general public shouldn't be interested in watching people give themselves brain damage for millions of dollars. Without the monetary incentive, people wouldn't be playing football at this level (or the high school and NCAA feeders), which sure looks like exploitation to me.

If the NFL has known about the risks for years and continued with its business model, it should absolutely face lawsuits and financial ruin.

Re: Ravens OL John Urschel, 26, retires abruptly, two days after CTE study

#229

Post by kodfodrasz »

w00bl3ywook wrote: post #207
ApolloFortyNine wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I played football in up through High School, and I'd definitely say I would be a different person today if I hadn't gone through it. The camaraderie amongst the team is unique amongst every experience I've had since. Plus working through something so challenging definitely provides a great level of satisfaction. I like who I am today, even if I might have a higher risk for any symptoms, and I believe football played…

I got the same benefit from joining science club! Minus the brain damage.

Or not, you cannot know until you try both.

You should know the scientific method from the science club. ;)

Re: Ravens OL John Urschel, 26, retires abruptly, two days after CTE study

#230

Post by Govindae »

nikofeyn wrote: post #191
brandall10 wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's worth reading his 2015 article "Why I Still Play Football": https://www.theplayerstribune.com/why-i-play-football/ . Regarding mathematics as a career and his outlook on the financial issue - "I have a bright career ahead of me in mathematics. Beyond that, I have the means to make a good living and provide for my family, without playing football. I have no desire to try to accumulate $10 million in the bank; I a…

> "i ... live on less than $25k a year." there's no way i can believe that. my rent alone is $24,000.

From this, we can conclude that John is not your roommate.
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