Jermichael Finley is a F--king Idiot!

[Miamipuck]

He can get 10 million tax free just by retiring, is he freaking nuts?

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/jermichael-finley-s--10-million-dilemma--what-would-you-do--171936227.html

Jimmy Graham agreed to a four-year, $40 million contract on Wednesday, at age 27. Fellow tight end Jermichael Finley, also 27, has $10 million waiting for him. It's not $40 million, but it's enough to live comfortably the rest of his life.

All Finley has to do to collect that money is give up football. There's the rub.

Finley, who has spent his entire career with the Packers, suffered a serious neck injury against the Browns last year. It happened to be the final year of his contract. So he went into free agency with a neck issue that makes it hard for an NFL team to invest heavily in him.

He has a $10 million insurance policy, though. As USA Today's Tom Pelissero detailed, Finley can file a claim on Oct. 20, one year after the injury, if he hasn't played in four games by then.
Again, Finley is just 27. He is in his prime as an athlete and a healthy Finley can help many NFL teams, including the Packers. The insurance money would be great, but it's understandable that Finley isn't ready to give up football quite yet.

 It's quite a tough dilemma, especially considering that if he does sign with a team it's very unlikely to be anywhere near $10 million, with no guarantee that he'd make that much in future contracts either. And retiring from the game would be the safest thing for him, health-wise.<blockquote>"Pittsburgh have showed me a couple deals, but we all know the money ain't what it's supposed to be," Finley told USA Today. "If I quit the game right now, I can take tax-free money, and that's a difficult thing that I'm going through with myself …"</blockquote>

Finley is working toward a return. Finley, who had two vertabrae fused after the injury, has more tests scheduled for Wednesday, USA Today said, which he can show to teams to prove his spine is healing. He was cleared in May and he told Pelissero that doctors said it's "99.9 percent" that he'd be more protected and in better shape than he was before his injury.

But nothing in football is safe, and Finley could basically retire, collect $10 million and live a comfortable life. That life, however, would be without the sport he has spent his entire life playing. A lot of work goes into building up a career like Finley has had. Money alone can't make up for giving that up at age 27.
It's a tough choice that almost anyone would struggle with. So what would you do.

No it's not "quite a tough dilemma", in fact it's a freaking easy one. Finley isn't going to get 10 million taxable over the course of his remaining career. Plus he will be able to walk after this, if he continues to play, who knows.

[Johnny English]

Of course it's a tough choice, playing football is who he is. Players who retire after a full career struggle with giving it up, I can only imagine how difficult it would be to have to consider retirement five years into your career and just hitting the peak of your abilities. It's not like he's selling software or government bonds, it isn't just a job.

[Badger]

Of course it's a tough choice, playing football is who he is. Players who retire after a full career struggle with giving it up, I can only imagine how difficult it would be to have to consider retirement five years into your career and just hitting the peak of your abilities. It's not like he's selling software or government bonds, it isn't just a job.

I would imagine it's easier to walk away from a 5 year career than a 15 year career.

[dcm1602]

I would imagine it's easier to walk away from a 5 year career than a 15 year career.

Well after all his injuries it might be hard for him to walk away, they might need to roll him out on a wheelchair or stretcher

[Miamipuck]

Of course it's a tough choice, playing football is who he is. Players who retire after a full career struggle with giving it up, I can only imagine how difficult it would be to have to consider retirement five years into your career and just hitting the peak of your abilities. It's not like he's selling software or government bonds, it isn't just a job.

Here's my well thought out answer:

freak you.

[Tommy]

I would imagine it's easier to walk away from a 5 year career than a 15 year career.

Well, there's the whole "what could have been" thing.

[IATA]

In Finley's case,  what could be is never walking again.

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[Johnny English]

In Finley's case,  what could be is never walking again.

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If what he's saying is true and the doctors say that he's 99.9% going to be as healthy as he was before or better, I don't accept that that's a legitimate argument.

[dcm1602]

Well, there's the whole "what could have been" thing.

I heard that comes up often while licking caviar off a hookers tit on a 10 million dollar yacht

Dreaming of how great life could have been

[dcm1602]

If what he's saying is true and the doctors say that he's 99.9% going to be as healthy as he was before or better, I don't accept that that's a legitimate argument.

Well I mean

Doctors say the area of Peyton Manning's neck where two vertebrae were fused should be stronger than ever.

Wellington K. Hsu, a spine surgeon and assistant professor at Northwestern University, says the fused area should not be vulnerable. "In fact, his neck is probably stronger now than it was before the surgery because he has a solid, bony fusion," Hsu said.

Rick Sasso, an Indianapolis spine surgeon who, like Hsu, was not involved in Manning's treatment, agrees. "As long as the fusion was solid, that segment is very protected," he said.

. Finley, who had two vertabrae fused after the injury,

He was cleared in May and he told Pelissero that doctors said it's "99.9 percent" that he'd be more protected and in better shape than he was before his injury.

[Tommy]

I struggle with the idea that someone could be in better shape after having neck surgery and doctors screwing around with your spinal cord. Take the damn $10 million.

[Miamipuck]

10MM tax free is the equivalent to an 17-18 million + contract depending on various states tax. He is nuts, take the 10mill and run. Given his history, there's no freaking away he is making that money back. Not to mention there's that walking/paralyzation thing.

[Ignatius J Reilly]

Of course it's a tough choice, playing football is who he is. Players who retire after a full career struggle with giving it up, I can only imagine how difficult it would be to have to consider retirement five years into your career and just hitting the peak of your abilities. It's not like he's selling software or government bonds, it isn't just a job.

If you asked my brother in law, with permanent disability and constant discomfort and pain, whether he'd want to have finished out the last 7 years of his career or taken $10 million tax free to only play 5, he'd probably look at you like you're an idiot.  There's no freaking way anyone but an All Pro or an idiot would turn this down.

[Johnny English]

If you asked my brother in law, with permanent disability and constant discomfort and pain, whether he'd want to have finished out the last 7 years of his career or taken $10 million tax free to only play 5, he'd probably look at you like you're an idiot.  There's no freaking way anyone but an All Pro or an idiot would turn this down.

And maybe Jermichael Finley will feel the same when he is retired, but can your BIL say that he would definitely have made that decision while he was playing? (I'm assuming he's a former pro football player?)