Holy crow, talk about a bust. 3 seasons after being drafted 8th overall in 2010, and he's retiring.

Adam Caplan ‏@caplannfl 2m
Wow: Ravens announced that LB Rolando McClain is retiring from the NFL.

He'll always have this



Hope one of our guys can do that Tavon Austin this season, I'll gladly take that penalty.

Cue the "Should we bring him in?" posts in 3... 2... 1....

Makes me wonder how much money he saved?

Looks like his rookie contract was:

$23 million guaranteed on a five-year, $40 million deal

Played 3 years of it, but I also read they were able to void his remaining guaranteed money from his 4th year due to the suspensions.

Now a normal person with any sense of money management would probably have squirreled away a majority of that money, and be set at 23 years old. Ready to start the next phase of their life with 8 digits in their bank account. But this kid?

There were a few posters who really wanted to bring him in, this offseason. Very glad the Hawks stayed away.

What a waste of incredible talent.

Would watch a McClain and Titus Young reality show.

Getup anddance wrote:Would watch a McClain and Titus Young reality show.

COPS has been canceled.

LOL what?

I don't get it and neither does his grandmother it seems...just wow.

Who retires at 23?

He's giving Titus Young a run for his money in the WTF?! Stakes.

volsunghawk wrote:Cue the "Should we bring him in?" posts in 3... 2... 1....

I say we coax him out of retirement like the Vikings did with Brett Favre.

By the way, is Favre still available? We could bring him in to tutor Wilson.

Shush you Philistine don't even think it!!!

Bring in Mclain and Young on a shared contract. BOGO deal on players that can't handle their shit.

At least with Rolando McClain I can see a few good arguments for him retiring early:

#1: He signed a rookie contract under the old CBA, meaning that he already has several million dollars in the bank. McClain was paid something like $22 million in guaranteed money before taxes. No reason to keep playing just for the money, especially on $700k contracts. If money was the goal all along, getting out now makes sense as the added money isn't worth the long term health ramifications and costs.

#2: He played for Oakland. That's going to end your hunger to play the game real quick. Jamarcus Russell was in a similar type of situation and just decided it was better to walk away.

In the case of Young, he wasn't rich, seemed to be coming into his own and had all the reason in the world to be on his best behavior and now he's out of the NFL and now maybe into a prison cell. I think McClain made a defensible decision to retire given the money he has and that he clearly doesn't have a heart for the game anymore. Titus Young on the other hand, is a nutjob.

kearly wrote:At least with Rolando McClain I can see a few good arguments for him retiring early:

#1: He signed a rookie contract under the old CBA, meaning that he already has several million dollars in the bank. McClain was paid something like $22 million in guaranteed money before taxes. No reason to keep playing just for the money, especially on $700k contracts. If money was the goal all along, getting out now makes sense as the added money isn't worth the long term health ramifications and costs.

#2: He played for Oakland. That's going to end your hunger to play the game real quick. Jamarcus Russell was in a similar type of situation and just decided it was better to walk away.

In the case of Young, he wasn't rich, seemed to be coming into his own and had all the reason in the world to be on his best behavior and now he's out of the NFL and now maybe into a prison cell. I think McClain made a defensible decision to retire given the money he has and that he clearly doesn't have a heart for the game anymore. Titus Young on the other hand, is a nutjob.

Just for clarification's sake, McClain isn't leaving the game because he doesn't have a heart for it anymore (and it didn't start in Oakland). He's leaving it because he can't keep his shit straight. Guy's a thug and has been since at least high school (Decatur is up the road from where I grew up, and I know lots of people who still live there). McClain's always acted untouchable because of his football hero status in the area, and thought he could still get away with it as an NFL player. He's not as crazy as Titus Young, but his inability to be in the NFL right now is just as much due to off-the-field stupidity.

twisted_steel2 wrote:Makes me wonder how much money he saved?

Looks like his rookie contract was:

$23 million guaranteed on a five-year, $40 million deal

Played 3 years of it, but I also read they were able to void his remaining guaranteed money from his 4th year due to the suspensions.

Now a normal person with any sense of money management would probably have squirreled away a majority of that money, and be set at 23 years old. Ready to start the next phase of their life with 8 digits in their bank account. But this kid?

The majority of people could blow 90% of that money and still be set for life (albeit not the "high life" that he's probably accustommed to)

themunn wrote:The majority of people could blow 90% of that money and still be set for life (albeit not the "high life" that he's probably accustommed to)

This mindset is why so many lottery winners end up broke later in life. $22m is not as much as it seems once you start spending.

Regarding the money. I used to have a neighbor who was a mortgage broker who specialized in high income people with bad credit. His client base was primarily doctors and professional athletes.

We'd be out mowing the lawn at the same time and he'd tell me stories about specific players he worked with, guys who's names are recognizable to most hardcore football fans, who were literally living from game check to game check and would borrow money in the off-season to make ends meet.

Money and the way it's managed is more about psychology than the actual amounts, and most people will without really thinking about it adjust their lifestyle to be at or slightly above what their income will allow them to sustain. This is a problem when the career length of your chosen field is typically less than five years.