SAN FRANCISCO—Following his shocking retirement from the NFL at just 24-years-old, former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Chris Borland has agreed to pay back a significant percentage of his signing bonus to his former franchise.
Borland, accused of cash grabbing after playing only one season for the Niners, has agreed to give back nearly three-fourths of his original $617,436 bonus.
“This to me is just about health and nothing else,” Borland told CBS news. “I’ve never played the game for money or attention. I love football. I’ve had a blast and I don’t regret the last 10 years of my life at all. I’d do it over the exact same way. From here on I’m looking forward.”
Borland made the decision to retire last week due to fear of future brain trauma. Before his unexpected retirement, he was expected to become the 49ers full-time starter at inside linebacker, a position that no doubt would have earned him many millions of dollars.
Instead, the 24-year-old walks away from the game after a tantalizing one-year career that left the football world craving just a little more Borland.
