Earlier this month, we wrote an article on Pittsburgh Steelers’ safety Will Allen announcing he was starring in a video discussing why several NFL players have retired early.
Today, Part One of the video has been released.
In it, Allen plays more of the role of host, interviewing several former NFL players, including former Steelers’ cornerback Bryant McFadden.
McFadden praised former linebacker Chris Borland’s decision to retire following his rookie season.
“If he was happy playing one year at the professional level, had a lot of success, and now he’s willing to walk away, I applaud him for that. Because a lot of people play the game at the professional level for the money. And the love kind of, goes away.”
Former tight end Derek Rackley agreed.
“I give him credit to be able to have that foresight to look ahead. To say, you know what, I don’t want to be 45 years old, and I can’t play with my kid. That’s just not the quality of life I want to have.”
During the video, produced by 120 sports, retired defensive end Alex Brown makes a great point about what fans can and can’t see.
“The physical part of the game gets shown on TV…the mental part is what you go through the other six days.”
McFadden was candid, saying that despite the risks football has, isn’t a decision he regrets, noting that it “opened up a lot of other doors for me.”
Rackley ended the video by advising current players to begin looking towards what they want to do in their post-football career.
Allen has done just that. In addition to this internship, he started the Will Allen Foundation in 2008 and took up an externship through the NFLPA earlier this offseason.
