Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

I only know of 2 such cases.

Jim McMahon and Brett Favre though they're probably not the only ones.

Now not that it really matters but I figure many current and former players probably watched football on TV and went to games when they were kids and it's interesting that they would not take interest in it anymore.


Now in some instances I can understand. Such as perhaps not being proud of their career or the difficulty they may have later on, you look at all those on the Gridiron Greats website or the concussion issues, Jim himself has even mentioned that he's suffering from that these days.

And with the changes in the modern day game some may cite that as a reason.

But how common is this with former players not watching the NFL?

I have a PFHOF DVD set that profiles various players careers including a few interview segments. There's a segment with Elvin Bethea who says something to the effect of... "Football doesn't interest me anymore. It had a time and place in my life but I don't care about it anymore. No hard feelings."

It seemed really awkward as to why the Hall would include that on the DVD.

Maybe it's better for some ex players just to move on. They would miss their playing days too much if they watched.

Obviously not everyone does this, some become coaches or broadcasters or retain a more objective ability to watch the game.

Wasn't it Bronko Nagurski who, in his later life, signed autographs to young men with the words "Don't Play Football" (or something to that effect)?

JuggernautJ wrote:Wasn't it Bronko Nagurski who, in his later life, signed autographs to young men with the words "Don't Play Football" (or something to that effect)?

I recall him regretting the fact that he had been such a bruising runner.