Thread: Doctor: NFL players have intentionally bombed

It's not a smart move on the players part but what can you do. If someone chooses to harm themself you really can't prevent it.

Originally Posted by soulman

It's not a smart move on the players part but what can you do. If someone chooses to harm themself you really can't prevent it.

yep, just shows how competitive these guys are, and why "performance enhancers' are such a problem still..if you will cheat on a concussion test( and take ritalin to do it), which is just for a players own health benefits.. do you really think those same players will not cheat on supplements or drugs to get better?

Originally Posted by Dagan81

That's the one thing about the current NFL salary structure I don't like. Give me one reason that NFL teams shouldn't have to honor a player's contract when they are injured. If they get injured, they can be discarded and their salary jettisoned, no questions asked.

Well this story gives one reason why.. even if the teams try and protect the players and themsleves from long term problems.. they still try and cheat it.. and the 2nd reason is if NFL players had guaranteed contracts, then your ticket price will be over $200 to $300 face value fr even cheap seats, if had to add in all the guranteed money injured players got, remember only have 8 games to 'recoup" this money, unlike 81 games in baseball.. and unlike the 12 players on a bsketball team or 23 players on a baseball team, now would ahve a 53 player "exposure" for guaranteed contracts( over 2X any other sport, with 1/10 to 1/4 less games to make the revenue up).. and on;y way to make up THAT REVENUE, would be doubling to tripling ticket prices

Originally Posted by Dagan81

That's the one thing about the current NFL salary structure I don't like. Give me one reason that NFL teams shouldn't have to honor a player's contract when they are injured. If they get injured, they can be discarded and their salary jettisoned, no questions asked.

Dags, unlike baseball an NFL player 4 years deal isn't a single contract. It's a series of one year contracts that are in effect renewable at the teams discretion each year. Sweet deal for the owners huh? If a player is injured during the course of the year the team either honors his contract for the season or until he returns to the active roster.

At times when a team doesn't want to retain that player they'll offer him an injury settlement and waive him. Once that happens he's a free agent and can sign with another team and negotiate a new contract with them. If the injury is severe enough to end his career he simply retires just as any other player would do under similar circumstances.

Obviously the teams stars and core players benefit more from this than fringe players but it is what it is.

why players will cheat the concussion test

Players will do anything to stay on the field. Matt Bowen

The NFL has a serious issue with concussions. The idea of an 18-game schedule doesn’t help and changing the rules on kickoffs is just window dressing—designed to cover up the deeper concerns.

However, if you haven’t read the piece from Alex Marvez over at FoxSports.com on players and their tactics to cheat the system when it comes to the baseline concussion tests, you only know part of the story.

Because players are part of the problem.

Every offseason I would sit in front of a computer in the training room, staring at pictures of animals, number combinations, etc. The goal is to take the test in a clear state of mind and analyze the data (or memorization scores) after a head injury on the field. A way to judge if the player is fit to return to live action.

However, I intentionally missed questions—and there are many other players who followed the same plan.
Sandbag the test, because when you are asked to re-take the test after a concussion on Sunday, you can still pass.
I have talked about concussions and the severity of the post-career issues that players—including myself—feel on a daily basis at the NFP and in a detailed column over at the Chicago Tribune.

But that didn’t stop me from doing whatever it took to stay on that field as a pro.

During my rookie season in St. Louis and my first year as a Packer in Green Bay I took the concussion test seriously. However, by my third season I started to see the nature of this business play out in front of me and what happened when you couldn’t dress and produce on Sunday.

Your roster spot became expendable and like most athletes who view themselves as “immortal,” I wasn’t going to let a simple concussion slow me down. So I screwed with my own test results to protect my spot in the lineup and on special teams.

Looking back, it was one of the worst decisions I ever made, especially after experiencing a concussion in 2003 (one that knocked me out) and playing the next week in Carolina. I took the test during the practice week and was right back on the field. But I would probably do it again if it kept me on the roster.

Like I said, the concussion problem in this league is real, and when it comes to the player’s perspective, I don’t see an answer any time soon.