After one season of play, Chris Borland decided that playing football wasn’t worth the risks to his long-term health. The former 49er also decided that he shouldn’t be paid for more than one season of work.
Borland, who was one of football’s most promising rookies last year, announced on CBS News’ Face the Nation that he will voluntarily return three-quarters of his signing bonus after choosing to retire from the game earlier this month.
Borland inked a four-year deal with the 49ers coming out of college that came with a $617,436 signing bonus. That means that the retired linebacker will be returning $463,077 to San Francisco, a number made all the more staggering when one considers that Borland’s entire base salary for the 2014 season was $420,000.
For Chris, he’s only taking what he feels he earned through his play:
“I’m paying back three fourths of my signing bonus. I’m only taking the money I’ve earned. This to me this is just about health and nothing else. I never played the game for money and attention. I love football and I’ve had a blast. I don’t regret the last 10 years of my life at all. I’d do it over the exact same way.”
The 49ers would have had the right to contest paying a pro-rated portion of Borland’s signing bonus but it’s still somewhat amazing to see Borland give so much money back without a fight.
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