I'd like to add that negotiating is not something to be avoided or feared - it's an everyday part of life.

But the equipment to protect the players hasn't developed along with that, so now you have more players out with worse injuries, for longer periods of time.

For a generation that gets most of its information off a computer screen (be it Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter or what have you), an athlete has to be very careful about the public/private aspect of that. Be careful not to be overly critical, be careful with use of language, and understand the whole world is watching.

When it came to football there was a certain age where I realized that my future in football was being a grease spot on the side of some bigger player.

Be open to the amazing changes which are occurring in the field that interest you.

I just knew that economics had never been my big motivation.

In reality, we can prove that the incidents of drug, alcohol abuse and violence have dropped dramatically among professional athletes - but the problem is it would be impossible to convince than fans, because of what they read on the AP wire.