John Urschel retires from NFL at 26 after 3 seasons

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SavingWithBabies
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John Urschel retires from NFL at 26 after 3 seasons

Post by SavingWithBabies »

I wonder if John Urschel is pursuing FI too? He retired today from the NFL after 3 seasons to focus on his Ph.D. from MIT. According to spotrac.com, he has had about 1.8M in compensation over the past 3 years.

I happened to see a headline about this on CNN today: Ravens OL John Urschel Retires After CTE Study, Continues Pursuit of MIT Ph.D.:
Urschel is a mathematician, and he said the head trauma after a 2015 concussion impacted his ability to think, according to Hensley: "I think it hurt my ability to think well mathematically. It took me about three weeks before I was football-ready. It took me a little bit longer before my high-level visualizations ability came back."
Not a lot of data points but one interesting one: His 2013 Nissan Versa parked next to teammates vehicles:
Urschel's car was his gift to himself when he was drafted by the Ravens in the fifth round of the 2014 draft. He purchased the Versa, which had 30,000 miles on it, for $9,000 (which amounts to 6 percent of his $144,560 signing bonus).
And:
His teammates also know he tends to be more economical than extravagant. He recently mentioned that he could live on $25,000 a year.
Maybe it's all because he is a mathematician but interesting all the same.

Disclaimer: I don't follow professional sports.

Chad
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Re: John Urschel retires from NFL at 26 after 3 seasons

Post by Chad »

Surprising he didn't add one more year of risk, as 4 years would qualify him for the NFL pension at 55. Plus, he probably wasn't even going to be starter this year, so he wouldn't get a ton of contact. Though, he won't have a hard time finding a job, so it probably wasn't a big decision for him.

Chad
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Re: John Urschel retires from NFL at 26 after 3 seasons

Post by Chad »

I played in high school and college. I have read the studies. The body risks are slightly overblown. Brain damage is possible, but after reading the studies I want more information. Most of the studies have been too small and have only focused on people who already have symptoms. This article touches on these issues: http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sp ... e_nfl.html

There is a new study going on right now for CTE in soccer, which appears to have a larger sample size than what was previously done on soccer. I bet they find a fair amount, as smaller studies have shown. I'm betting that any sport with even limited physical contact creates a fair amount. Obviously, football, boxing, MMA, etc. would have higher risks, but it's hard to tell how much right now. There are always risks in life. There are risks taking a shower, driving, etc. We are becoming a little too risk averse. I don't want to sit in my house afraid to go out.

This does not mean I'm not for smart prevention. There is no need for kids younger than 9th grade to play full contact football. There is also no need to let high school kids hit in practice during the week.

Yes, he has enough to live on $25k the rest of his life, but it's not out of the realm of possibility that he would like to do more. I'm not talking about private jets. I'm suggesting an MIT trained mathematician might have bigger dreams professionally and that money might come in handy. Living a life just to ERE is just as bad as living it to buy a new car.

He probably has already taken this into account and decided he wanted to go this route more, but it still would be an interesting question to ask him.

Riggerjack
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Re: John Urschel retires from NFL at 26 after 3 seasons

Post by Riggerjack »

://www.theplayerstribune.com

Search urschel

He writes a good column, there. In fact, I'm impressed by the writing, overall.

I think he liked playing at MIT more than playing in the pros.

Laura Ingalls
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Re: John Urschel retires from NFL at 26 after 3 seasons

Post by Laura Ingalls »

@Chad
I am not sure it is overblown. This kid never played at all in college.
http://www.gq.com/story/the-concussion- ... otball-cte

Chad
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Re: John Urschel retires from NFL at 26 after 3 seasons

Post by Chad »

@Augustus
Not really. I had my ACL reconstructed when I was 20 or 21, and it's 100% and still with no pain (I'm 44). I'm not too worried about debilitating body pain. Plus, I lean a little towards Hunter S. Thompson's quote about life:

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!”

@Riggerjack
It wouldn't be surprising at all if he enjoyed playing in college more than the NFL. It probably goes from being fun to being a job quicker than one would hope.

@Laura Ingalls
I had seen that. Single cases aren't good examples. I'm sure we could find single cases of brain damage or major injury from just about anything, including people just slipping and falling. I'm not saying there isn't increased risk and I'm not suggesting I'm not concerned. However, issues like this always build in the public for a long time and then it's like a damn bursting. No one was concerned at all for decades with football and the brain, and now everyone is. Could it be serious enough to end football? Maybe, but the studies so far are really just measuring those with symptoms, not the overall population. This leaves a lot of open questions. Are these people that would have developed these mental issues anyway? It's not like this doesn't happen all the time with people as people age. Maybe it speeds it up for them? Do pole vaulters get CTE from continually landing on that mat from 15 feet away? Do long jumpers get it with all the abrupt stops from the jumps? Catchers? Bicyclists from falls? Etc. We just don't know.

This study tentatively showed it in baseball, basketball, and other sports that have nowhere near the contact that football, hockey, etc. do. But, again, it's not the best study.
https://thinkprogress.org/new-study-fin ... f972f0e732

So, "How safe do you want to play life?" is the real question. Then go from there.

Like I pointed out in my previous post, I'm not against making reasonable changes to reduce the risk. No reason not to start taking precautions while this is studied.

BRUTE
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Re: John Urschel retires from NFL at 26 after 3 seasons

Post by BRUTE »

Augustus wrote:
Fri Jul 28, 2017 7:44 pm
can't buy less pain
opioids

slowtraveler
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Re: John Urschel retires from NFL at 26 after 3 seasons

Post by slowtraveler »

@OP

Thanks for sharing this. I read his story some time ago but seeing him pull the trigger and ERE before too much brain/bodily damage from the NFL accumulates is something else.

He's got his priorities in check and more money than he'd ever get in academia. He did professional sports right.

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