Nationalization might improve coach pressure on players, but I don’t see how you can square “even higher pay” with athletes being willing to report concussions that will force them to resign. Median NFL salary is almost a million dollars; people are just going to lie to keep their jobs. Guarantee some sort of pension? Either it’s too little, so they under-report, or it’s too much and they do soccer-style overacting for an easy retirement. You have to do so much to salvage this sport, it’s like trying to make boxing safe.
Nationalization might improve coach pressure on players, but I don’t see how you can square “even higher pay” with athletes being willing to report concussions that will force them to resign. Median NFL salary is almost a million dollars; people are just going to lie to keep their jobs. Guarantee some sort of pension? Either it’s too little, so they under-report, or it’s too much and they do soccer-style overacting for an easy retirement. You have to do so much to salvage this sport, it’s like trying to make boxing safe.