Athletes please stop blaming and complaining to others for your choices.
Life is not always fair and you can't expect it to be. The direction, trajectory, and outcome of our lives are based on CHOICES. We all make them and sometimes don't make the right one. You get paid WHAT THE MARKET ALLOWS.
Before you think I'm a hater, you have to hear me out.
These professional atheletes get paid so incredibly well that I don't see one reason they can complain. They CHOSE this field knowing that they had a high risk of injury, short career span, shorter lifespan, and knowingly deprioritized their education to fulfill their dream. I was also a STUDENT /ATHLETE. I simply made better choices IMO.
These running backs are amazingly talented humans. They also could have chosen to be defensive backs, receivers, quarterbacks etc. Why are THEY more important than anyone else (and I totally understand THAT argument). But it takes ONE BOBBY EVANS to wreck a team. How important is he?
A small percentage of atheletes know how to handle their money. I read that 50% of NFL players are bankrupt 5-10 years after retiring. I'm not certain of it but I know it is high. Same with other Sports. Neon Dion Sanders was one of the highest paid atheletes who got the unthinkable million dollar salary. If he had no TV gig (and now coaching), he would be broke today like most of his contemporaries. Jose Canseco was the highest paid athlete in 1988 and now can't find change in the couch. I know him well as i was married to his exwife. These are all CHOICES that they made. (Ultimately issues with loving and solid parental advice may be the culprit IMO).
EVERYONE in this lawsuit happy world knows about CTE. Anyone with compromised intelligence can reason that getting hit in the head really hard repeatedly is not good for your brain or health. Yet, there continues to be a constant flow of atheletes trying to get into the NFL, boxing, UFC etc. They are all making THIS CHOICE WILLINGLY only to want to blame someone later if THEIR decision turns out badly for them. I am friends with many owners of professional sports teams and pro atheletes etc. Their families are friends and patients of mine. I see the wonderful outcomes of their choices also.. but it is very uncommon. Processional sports is a high risk career they chose with the necessary unfortunate and associated possible neglect of other aspects of their lives.
I personally believe a heart surgeon who saves the lives of numerous people every day should be paid more than ANY professional athlete or Hollywood actor. However, that is not what the market bears and my wishes are irrelevant. These people get paid outrageously for what they love to do and most are not prepared for "After". They should NEVER complain IMO! They chose all of this. Quit if you don't think you're being paid enough. Find a new position or a new job.
So as a student athlete, I was right there with them in high school and college. I wanted to play baseball however. (IMO a better gig with less injuries, longer career and excellent pay to "get paid for freaking playing a game"!
I have never resonated with people who state they were "underprivileged" and "didn't have a chance" either.
I lost my father at age 9 when he became MIA/POW in the Vietnam war. He never came back. We were poor and I worked a job EVERY single day of my life since age 9 to help pay for my needs and education. I lived in Mississippi and stayed in a 10 X 12 foot room for 13 years waiting and hoping my father would come back. He never did. I had lots of choices to make and thankfully and luckily made the right ones. I was a student athlete that prioritized my EDUCATION. I watched my friend student atheletes (football, baseball, basketball) neglect their education every day, and not seemingly care what score they would make on their test the next day. They cared how good their free throw shooting, batting practice or weightlifting was going. I cared also but did not prioritize that first. We all had the same books and teachers. I just didn't have a dad and had less money than most of them. These choices they made (or didn't make) is not societies fault. It is their own. My class reunions in Mississippi are generally a highlight of a welfare convention. I was directly confronted in college with either going to baseball practice or being able to take 3 hours of organic chemistry and its associated lab in college. I could not do both and had to make a CHOICE. I was smart enough but worked hard so I'm not where I am because I'm brilliant. I'm not. I just knew a medical career could last 40 years and was the right CHOICE to make . I made it myself despite the allure of athletics.
So when people gripe about a career they chose and all the associated downsides, I'm not moved at all. I say to Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley be thankful for the amazing abundance of blessings (and money) you are receiving, try to make better decisions on saving it and investing it. This is all of your selecting, neglecting, choosing and doing. Make good choices and stop blaming everyone else. I am also in agreement that they have a right to negotiate a better deal. However so do the owners. It's their damn league that they worked super hard and smart to build and develop. They should get rich just like the founder of Apple, GM, FB, space X or Microsoft. If you don't like the NFL and its rules, find another employer. Everyone makes choices.
