Study finds NFL careers are getting shorter, but why?

1. To many, particularly players, the NFL stands for "Not for Long," and it appears that is increasingly the case. The Wall Street Journal published a story on Monday with evidence that the average length of an NFL player's career has gone down sharply in recent years, NFL Jerseys Outlet and since 2008 players have been exiting the league earlier than they were over the previous 17 years. Using data from Pro-Football-Reference.com, writer Rob Arthur found that from 2008-2014 and across all positions, the average career length fropped from 4.99 years to just 2.66. [NFL free agency starts March 9. Here are Shutdown Corner's free-agency rankings for offensive players and for defensive players and specialists.] The decline is even greater at quarterback: where once players at the position averaged over six years, the longest careers in the game, they're now in and out of the league in three years, one month. The shortest careers belong to wide receivers, at just two years, 2.5 months. The question is, why? There always have been and always will be players who wash out of the league quickly because they aren't talented enough or don't want to put in the time and effort required to improve. In recent years we've seen players like the San Francisco 49ers' Chris Borland and the Green Bay Packers' Adrian Coxson retire young because of health concerns,Detroit Lions Jerseys Online but those kind of players still remain the exception, not the norm. Last month, Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch and New England Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo both retired before turning 30, but they played nine and eight seasons in the NFL, respectively. Health concerns on teams' side could be part of the issue, as could economics: under the 2011 collective bargaining agreement, the minimum salary in 2015 for players with 4-6 years NFL experience was $745,000, and for players with 7-9 years' experience, it is $870,000; the minimum for players in their second year is $585,000 and $660,000 for those in their third. Once a rookie pay scale for drafted players was instituted in that CBA, a myth was floated that the money once spent - and sometimes wasted - on big-money contracts for players who had yet to play a snap in the league would now go to veterans who have proven themselves, but that hasn't seemed to happen. And keep in mind: players don't get a pension until they become a vested veteran, once they have accured four seasons. WIth the average career now under three years, that means even fewer men getting that benefit. The NFL stays winning.