The Dark Side of NFL Retirement Is Worse Than You Think

There was a time when being drafted to the NFL was actually seen as no big deal. As a matter of fact, the world’s first Heisman winner and NFL draftee flat turned down a chance to play in the league. But then time passed – TV deals got signed. Team names and logos got embedded in the culture. And what was once seen as an ok job became the dream job for American boys. By the 70s, players like Randy Grimes spent all day dreaming of a moment like this. They lived this dream for 3 to 5 years, or if you’re lucky like Randy, your dream lasted even longer. But no matter how long a dream lasts, a core principle of dreams is that eventually, you gotta wake up. Some players woke up to a sobering reality, but it turns out they were the lucky ones…as others ended up waking up from their dream, straight into to a nightmare.