Is There Life After Football?: Surviving the NFL

by James A. Holstein, Richard S. Jones, George E. Koonce Jr.

In January 2014, President Barack Obama made headlines when he confided to New Yorker reporter Davis Remnick that, if he had a son, he would discourage him from playing in the NFL. "I would not let my son play pro football," he told the writer. Obama's words came on the heels of a year of heightened awareness of the life-long consequences of a professional football career. In August 2013, the NFL agreed to a $765 million settlement with over 4,500 retired players seeking damages for head injuries sustained during play. Thousands of others are seeking disability benefits in the Sate of California for on-field injuries. But the possibility of lifelong disability is not the only problem facing professional football players after their playing careers--often brief to begin with--come to an end. Many players, having spent years focusing on football, find themselves at sea when they either leave or are forced out of the NFL, without any alternate life plans or even the resources to make them.

Is There Life After Football? draws upon the experiences of hundreds of former players as they describe their lives after their football days are over. It also incorporates stories about their playing careers, even before entering the NFL, to provide context for understanding their current situations.The authors begin with an analysis of the "bubble"-like conditions of privilege that NFL players experience while playing, conditions that often leave players unprepared for the real world once they retire and must manage their own lives. The book also examines the key issues affecting former NFL players in retirement: social isolation, financial concerns, inadequate career planning, psychological challenges, and physical injuries. From players who make reckless and unsustainable financial investments during their very few high-earning years, to players who struggle to form personal and professional relationships outside of football, the stories in the book put a very human face on the realities of the world of professional football. George Koonce Jr., a former NFL player himself, weaves in his own story throughout, explaining the challenges and setbacks he encountered and decisions that helped him succeed as an NFL Director of Player Development, PhD student, and university administrator after leaving the sport.

Ultimately, Is There Life After Football? concludes that, despite the challenges players face, it is possible for players to find success after leaving the NFL if they have the right support, education, and awareness of what might await them. But players themselves must also resist being totally engulfed by the NFL culture in which they live. A fascinating study with unprecedented insider access, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in the world of professional football.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Football

336 pages, Hardcover

First published December 19, 2014

Reviews

[Matt Zar-Lieberman · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a little under 1,700 players currently on NFL rosters. All of them will at some point retire. Some will even do so more than once. And yet despite the fact that retirement is such a common occurrence, as noted by the authors of Is There Life After Football, the act is usually a private affair met with little fanfare. Granted, a few superstars can leave with some press attention and spectacle as they hold a press conference announcing them "retiring as a ____" but in most cases the decision is reluctantly and quietly made when all 32 teams take a pass on their services. The media has been devoting plenty of time to covering the mental health effects of former NFLers, but there really haven't been many wide investigations of what exactly players do after retirement. What careers do they pursue, what problems do they face, what impact does football have on them re-entering non-NFL life? Is There Life After Football? is three sociologists' attempt to answer these questions and does a fine job at examining NFL retirees and how the league's social institutions impact players far after their athletic careers.

The book draws heavily from the experiences from co-author George Koonce, a former linebacker for the Packers and Seahawks. Koonce didn't have the easiest transition after leaving the NFL, battling depression and a sense of aimlessness. It also draws from his research, as he eventually received a Doctorate in Sociology and wrote his thesis on NFL players' retirement transitions which included in-depth interviews with 21 former players. The insider access helps keep the book from ever veering into vague academic theorizing and firmly grounded in the real-world. The authors also wisely understand that Koonce is not a completely representative case, and his anecdotes and experiences are used as springboards for broader discussions rather than narrowly focusing on one case.

The sections generally follow a chronological progression throughout a player's life and how such events affect their post-career futures. The authors illustrate how many players have grown up with a myopic obsession with becoming a pro that prevented them from really focusing on post-career plans. They then proceed through chapters on life inside the single-minded NFL bubble, financial pitfalls, and the game's health impact. These read similarly to a long Sports Illustrated report. The final and perhaps most interesting chapter showcases the three sociologists drawing from academia to analyze how many of the problems faced by players have come about. It features them analyzing topics such as how players' senses are identity is often shattered by their retirement and how the hyper-regimented NFL lifestyle can lead former pros to struggle with retirement, the concept of role engulfment and its relation to the NFL, and name-dropping the likes of Emile Durkheim and others in the process. I found the chapter to be engaging and informative and never wading into "dry academic text" territory.

Is There Life After Football? greatly benefits from over 100 interviews with former pros, with many interviews yielding considerable insights. Koonce served as director of player development on the Packers and is able to tap into his rolodex to get former players from many decades. These accounts are bolstered by larger research studies from Koonce and others, delivering sobering statistics such as that 27% of retirees between the ages of 30-49 left voluntarily.

Is There Life After Football? also takes a very evenhanded look at NFL retirement as is by no means a hatchet job listing bankruptcies and sob stories (though there certainly are quite a bit of both). Sure, plenty of players have their issues once their careers end, but successes such as Alan Page (Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court) and Heath Shuler (former Congressman) should illustrate that retirement outcomes can run the gamut. It is was a surprisingly entertaining read for a book by three academics from a university publisher, and it held my interest besides a few passages that extensively detailed the intricacies of NFL pensions.

In Sum
Is There Life After Football? is an intelligent and engaging read about how NFL players transition.to normal life. While most accounts of post-NFL lives have predominately centered around concussions and other health problems, the book takes a wider sociological lens to the subject. It is an original approach that is executed well, and I recommend the book to anyone interested in learning more on the topic. It seems like it would be especially enjoyable to fans of fare such as HBO's Real Sports and ESPN's Outside the Lines.

8/10

[victor harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed examination of the woes and pitfalls of NFL players after the glitter of their playing days wears off. One of the problems is they are in their early 20s when their receive their huge contracts and have little experience handling finances, so are at the mercy of family, friends, or unscrupulous agents and advisers. That is often a perilous proposition and proves to be to their detriment. Because of their exceptional talents, they are often catered to from an early age and when their short careers end, they must adapt to life in the real world. As with the money problem, they have relied on everyone else to handle even the most routine of transactions and functions and are ill-equipped to make the transition to being responsible for such transactions.
Excellent breakdown of how the salary contracts really work and also includes comprehensive analysis of the post-career injury problems. Because of their sheltered locker room culture existence, life after football proves to be a devastating experience for many players, and as they discover - fame is indeed fleeting.

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was drawn to this book by one of the names George Koonce who played linebacker for the Green Bay Packers during the 90’s when they went back to back to the Super Bowl, he also spent one year with the Seahawks before leaving the game at managements time not his. I think that is just one of the reasons for this book. He many men who actually don’t retire from the game teams just no longer call them and now they must sort out what to do. He goes into the college game and breaks all of that down. He also breaks down the salaries from the different pro leagues and how they are different with baseball and basketball having guarantee contracts and the NFL not having any. When a player gets hurt in the NFL and is let go he is longer payed. Whereas for example Alex Rodriguez contract with the Yankees for 275 million dollars was fully guaranteed except for the time he was suspended. Mr. Koonce gives you examples from his own personal life as well as a look at the different retired players, from the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, etc... He goes into how the AFL was able to change the standard of pay not only for the top tier player but also for the lower player as well. The book goes into injuries and how that effects players and how and why the players union decided to settle with the NFL on the concussion lawsuit. For someone myself who has grown up from the 60’s watching football I am still amazed at how many teams and the NFL fight former players over injuries still to this day. I remember reading a story about Conrad Dobler who played guard for the Cardinals, Saints, and Bills, and they were fighting him on a knee replacement saying it had nothing to do with football. Here was a man who was an All- Pro Guard during the 70’s and now they are saying his knee problems are because of football. Went the NFL will fine a player because the color of their shoes are wrong, or socks. They have to wear Bose head phones when in a stadium not Beats, really. Then the NFL worked at getting all of the facts about the concussion study covered up and even threaten the doctor who testified. This book really shows you that it is a business not just in the NFL but before. Being a Packer fan I enjoyed reading this book and gaining knowledge as well as Mr. Koonce getting on with his life after football. A good back with a lot of information. I got this book from netgalley. I gave it 4 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com

[Mike Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

We bought this book directly from former Packer and nine-year NFL veteran, George Koonce. Mostly it was a chance to meet the man and shake the hand of a player that I respected. Purchasing the book was not the motivation nor would it ever have wound up in our library had it not been for the chance to meet George. However, I found the book to be a fascinating read. It's hard to believe, but one could actually feel sorry for "institutionalized" NFL players and the societal disjunction they feel upon their exit from the NFL. Koonce's emotional strain were typical, but his adaptation to life after football was not. He made the most of his new life. Sadly, many others are not as able to be resilient.

The book is a fast read and well-written. The author draws upon many examples and is educated on the subject.

[Jbussen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those subjects where you kind of already knew the answer but not the details. Like the 08 financial crisis. You knew there was at some serious malfeasance and outright fraud. And you know who the bad actors were, but just didn't know the specifics. Here are the specifics.

I do wish people who think these guys are overpaid, spoiled, mezzo-morphic morons would read how much the athletes are really compensated and how much really goes into getting onto the field.

Another very good book on the same subject is Not for Long: The Life and Career of the NFL Athlete.
From my final paragraph of that review:
A game-day experience has been described (from another book) as euphoria (one source used "orgasm") lasting the whole 4 hours. Even just training, the preparing to play is a part of that. Some would say the journey itself is the payoff. The brotherhood, family, adulation, lifestyle, make it worth it. That for each of the massive sacrifices (everything) you also gain just as much.
I enjoyed this book. It was informative. Would I make the sacrifice to go on the journey? 1st. I don't know if I have that kind of mental wherewithal to do it. But let's say I did. Even after reading the marathon of negatives, the answer is yes.

[Lietke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Highly repetitive. Yes we get it... It is rare to retire from the NFL without getting hurt, many times lasting the rest of one's life. Not a lot of new ground covered here.

[Vince Darcangelo · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://ensuingchapters.com/2015/01/05...

I couldn’t have known it at the time, but in one night I met two athletes who would become prominent figures in the modern NFL concussion narrative: Mike Webster and Jack Tatum. At the time, Tatum was recently retired, but Webbie was still playing for my hometown Steelers, and of the seven or so players I met at this banquet, these are the only two I remember.

Because I bleed black and gold, I was happy to meet Webster. I remember him being incredibly friendly, shaking hands with both my father and me and penning a thoughtful autograph. But as cool as that was, I was really excited to meet the notorious Tatum, the icon of NFL villainy for permanently paralyzing wide receiver Darryl Stingley.

This had earned Tatum one of the coolest sports nicknames of all time, and he was at this banquet promoting the first of his three autobiographies, They Call Me Assassin.

Tatum didn’t just look mean–the air around him chilled, the energy darkened. Something repulsive oozed off of him and kept the crowd at a distance. He didn’t crack a smile, had none of Webster’s warmth. When I handed him my autograph sheet he literally just signed his name. No message, no greeting. Just “Jack Tatum.” He was terrifying, and I came away from that encounter star-struck.

Of course, my opinions of both men are much different now.

Nevertheless, both men symbolize the celebrity and consequence of football’s golden age: Tatum the intimidating aggressor whose ferocity and win-at-all-costs mentality are prized attributes and Webster the tough-as-nails scrapper who attained on-field glory at the cost of his mind, body and dignity off of it.

In the past decade, we’ve learned about the long-term health risks of playing professional football. With every early death, suicide and descent into darkness and bankruptcy, it becomes more difficult to enjoy a Sunday slugfest with a clear conscience. In another two decades, we may not recognize professional football, because we’re just now recognizing the toll it takes on its players.

An important new book on the subject, Is There Life After Football?, considers not only the physical and neurological toll of the sport, but also the psychological impact of job-mandated violence, short careers, and the wild financial swings common among players.

Penned by two sociologists and an unexpected scholar (former Green Bay Packers star George Koonce–that is, Dr. George Koonce), Is There Life After Football? provides a sobering and insightful view of this transition through the personal anecdotes of Koonce and the research of Holstein and Jones. Most jarring is Koonce’s admission of a reckless act at the end of his career. It wasn’t exactly a suicide attempt, but he did drive his car off the road just to see what would happen.

This anecdote is all the more poignant when considering the recent driving death of Rob Bironas.

Though not as accessible as the prose styles of Malcolm Gladwell and Michael Lewis, the authors do a great job of distilling difficult material into a digestible form. It’s also a treat to read for anyone who enjoyed watching those plucky Packers of the 1990s. Juxtaposing those dynamic teams with Koonce’s experiences gives the book a Behind the Music vibe.

The takeaway is the same. Just as those we see on stage and screen are real people, so too are the men behind the facemasks.

Perhaps in a box, somewhere, at my parents’ house is a slip of paper with Webster and Tatum’s autographs. If I ever find it, I’ll frame it, perhaps donate it to a museum, where it can memorialize a different time, alongside bare-knuckle boxing and Crack the Whip as American pastimes whose time has passed.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking for a light book to read and decided to give this a try. What’s easier than a book full of war stories about ex-NFL players? Well, it looks like I misjudged this book significantly.

Here’s a sample:

“Taken together, these titles adumbrate diverse components of the player ethos, which NFL players almost universally appreciate, value, and embody.

While players may not explicitly specify this credo, it permeates most accounts of their NFL lives. At times it’s been called a “code” by which players live. This analytic treatment of subcultural imperatives appears in myriad descriptions of other insulated communities, the prison convict code or the code of the street in impoverished urban ghettos, for example. Applied to NFL players, however, the imagery is far too deterministic, implying a set of rules or guidelines that govern individuals’ actions. It’s also too simplistic, suggesting that players merely learn the rules - both formal and unspoken - then follow them. The ethos is more of an implicit accountability structure to which players refer when interpreting their own and others’ behavior....”

Adumbrate?

There’s a reason books written by academics (in this case sociology professors) generally don’t appear on bestseller lists. The book can aptly demonstrate why this is true.

Between the dry, repetitive language, the colossal overuse of certain words and phrases (ethos, hyper masculine, the NFL bubble, to name just three) and the ridiculous overuse of quotation marks around ordinary terms it’s a wonder I had the determination to forge on. I guess it’s just part of my goodreads ethos.

If an alien landed on our planet and demanded to know how earthlings prepared for life in American football, what life in the “bubble” (sorry, I couldn’t “resist”) of professional football was like and what the difficult transition to life out of football would involve then I would wholeheartedly endorse this book. Or if they just wanted to read a book written by American sociology professors then that’s another reason to recommend this book.

I will admit I did enjoy the part in Chapter 8 about the infamous controversy between Miami Dolphins teammates Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin. It was very insightful and interesting. It’s not a reason to read this book but it was very well written.

[Serena Gulledge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched using insight from former players and sociologists, this is a fascinating glimpse into a football player's life from the very beginning to the more often than not bittersweet end. You always hear how players 'work hard' to get into the NFL. That is true. What you don't know is that, for the most part, they are absorbed into a culture that the book defines as 'the bubble', and that it can have detrimental effects on a player once they're out of the league. The book goes out of its way to press that the examples illustrated in it are not true for all players. Instead, it points to evidence drawn from former players and statistics. The most tragic of examples involves Junior Seau's suicide.

Highly recommend if you're a football fan.

[Bargain Sleuth Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my whole review and others, visit www.bargain-sleuth.com or on Facebook at Bargain Sleuth Book Reviews.

I'm not an academic by any means, but I thought this was a well-written book about the ins and outs of professional football. Anecdotal information is sprinkled throughout the factual claims and made for easy reading. I thought the last chapter was kind of muddled, though. Also impressed to learn that former Packer George Koonce, who is one of the authors, is now Doctor George Koonce after receiving his Phd.

[Hamza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative. This book is filled with a very detailed account of NFL Players lives during their time in the league as well as after. There are hundreds of player stories and comments which brighten up the book. I was a little mislead though. I was hoping for a more detailed account of George Koonce's Transition story. His story was there, but it left me wanting more. I highly recommend this book to football players and enthusiast to get a true account of what happens when players leave the league.

[Jon Lyon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read. Many points hold true about the transition from high level athletics or any elite profession for that matter. Nice to see a book that shows all angles of the process not just the "failures" of former players going broke a year out of the league which the media focus on.
Many points hit close to home.
Give it a read

[Dave Budzisz · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book includes a lot of surprising info and statistics about the nfl.

[Jill Kemerer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating look at football, especially the peek inside the bubble in college and the NFL.