In between all of the great moments in NFL history lies something that needs to be talked about, NFL athletes are opening up the conversation.
The NFL has gone through many changes since its inception; generations upon generations of incredible athletes with their own respective stories gracing the television sets and newspapers of people across the country. Only the oldest of NFL fans can remember “The Greatest Game Ever Played” and Joe Namath’s Guarantee in Super Bowl III.
Fast forward a decade or two to the famous “Immaculate Reception” and Dwight Clark’s “The Catch”, Scott Norwood’s missed kick in Super Bowl XXV, and John Elway’s “The Drive” rounded out the historic 20th century in the NFL.
Of course, you can’t tell the story of the NFL without the greatest dynasty in league history, the New England Patriots. The Tuck Rule happened, and the legend of Tom Brady and Adam Vinatieri were born. This dynasty was unstoppable, except for those pesky Hall of Famers, the Manning brothers.
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The Tyree Catch, the Manningham throw, and Peyton’s AFC Championship triumphs told the story of the other side of that dynasty. A new era is arriving into the NFL with game-changing players like Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson to pave the way for the next decade of greatness in the league.
That answer will come soon. However, with the recent retirements of Andrew Luck last season and Luke Kuechly just over a week ago at the young ages of 29 and 28, respectively; many people were surprised by their decisions.
The public knew of their injuries. Luck sustained a sprained shoulder, lacerated kidney, torn abdominal muscle, torn cartilage in his ribs, a concussion, another shoulder injury that resulted in surgery and the sitting out of the 2017 season, and a calf strain, all in a span of 7 years. Kuechly, on the other hand, had at least 3 concussions, including a grade 3 concussion in 2016, and 2 shoulder injuries in his eight-year career.
From a narrow view, it makes complete sense that these two star players retired so early, given their injury list. But it is widely known that a player must do whatever it takes to be the best player they can be. Sometimes, this means playing through injuries.
Those injuries add up over a 15 to 20-year career. With it in mind that playing through injuries is believed to help a team win, and the fact that these players truly love being a part of their team, it all adds up to the fact that it isn’t easy to walk away from the game so early.
An NFL player works extremely hard and has been for so many years with the only goal in mind of making it to the league. Once there, being presented with millions of dollars and a dream job clouds the judgment of many players when faced with injuries. This only leads to worse injuries down the line.
Everything above leads to this: Everyone needs to thank Andrew Luck and Luke Kuechly. Of course, there are others who have done the same (notably Rob Gronkowski only 5 months before Luck). This group of players opened up a major conversation about how football needs to change.
Countless current and former players have opened up about the risk of injuries and what needs to be done in the future. A common topic among experts across countless platforms has led to a major discussion about what changes need to be made about the development of young football players.
A 2018 study showed that changes in the brains of football players start as early as high school, and possibly even earlier, as shown in the tragic death of Kansas high-schooler, Nathan Stiles, in 2010.
With all of that said, the football community needs to thank these players who retired early. Not only for their sake but for the conversations it has opened up and the changes that will follow. Football is the best game in the world, but nevertheless, it is still just a game. This is why changes need to be made. It starts small but will get bigger.
Thank you, Andrew and Luke, for changing the narrative of the future of football. Thank you for opening up change that will be for the betterment of the game.