Pollard...."Thirty years from now I don’t think it [NFL} will be in existence."

[Rusty]

If the owners have to pay one red cent, the floodgates will be open and the lawyers will flood the courts with lawsuits. It really is NOT a good situation. I also fault the player union. Itś always about more money, more money and when the players are bankcrupt and disabled, the palyer union, like the ex wives and players family, kick them to the curb. The players end up broke, divorced and with no transferrable skills. Hell, if 80% end up in this situation, someone should be looking at how that also contributes to the suicides. No doubt banging your head thousands of times has a tremendous effect but giving some 21 year old economically disadvantaged kid $50 million dollars and itś a recipe for disaster for the poor player who virtually gets taken advantage of by multiple vultures. They are grown ass men, no doubt and no one is holding a gun to their heads but  a 22 year old pamperred player cannot have the same knowledge as some rip off lawyer or agent or some hoochie momma or mommas.

[NotDeadYet]

    Exactly, Rusty. Letting the lawyers in the door poses a very serious threat to the NFL. And the union is a big part of the leverage for letting lawyers in to begin with. Head injuries are just the tip of the iceberg, I'm afraid...

[caradoc]

    First of all, unlike the military draft, players are in the NFL by their choice and the team that agrees to pay them. If they're afraid of injury, DON'T SIGN THE DANG CONTRACT. Football is by it's very nature a dangerous game...

    All these lawsuits flying around have more potential to hurt the game LONG TERM than head injuries. With players already insured by the league, there should be a 'no fault' clause in all contracts to get rid of these lawsuits. I'd bet most players would have little problem with that...

    To make it more complicated, it's evolving into more of an entertainment spectacle that a sport from the business side.

    Pollard has good points; no one really knows where that line will ultimately be drawn between 'player safety' vs 'just enough violence to keep the fans interested enough to spend $$ on it'...

THe problem there is that the people who will ultimately make the decision on where that line is have no interest whatsoever in keeping the league in a functional, let alone enjoyable state.  Trial lawyers only care about lining their own pockets.  The rest of the world can burn for all they care.

Thirty years from now, if the league still exists, it will be watched only by women and girls.  Instead of Broncos vs. Eagles we'll see Ponies vs. Parakeets.

[The Anomaly]

    First of all, unlike the military draft, players are in the NFL by their choice and the team that agrees to pay them. If they're afraid of injury, DON'T SIGN THE DANG CONTRACT. Football is by it's very nature a dangerous game...

    All these lawsuits flying around have more potential to hurt the game LONG TERM than head injuries. With players already insured by the league, there should be a 'no fault' clause in all contracts to get rid of these lawsuits. I'd bet most players would have little problem with that...

    To make it more complicated, it's evolving into more of an entertainment spectacle that a sport from the business side.

    Pollard has good points; no one really knows where that line will ultimately be drawn between 'player safety' vs 'just enough violence to keep the fans interested enough to spend $$ on it'...

Therein lies the rub...how can you have any current players complaining about safety while 4000+ ex-players are suing?  It doesn't make sense.  How many current players have supported those lawsuits?