Ben Roethlisberger: CTE study will impact retirement decision

A new study into the wide reach of CTE in football players has shaken some in the NFL, and Ben Roethlisberger appears to be one of them.

The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, who has already floated the idea of retirement after the 2017 season, admitted that the study — which found that 110 of the 111 NFL player brains studied had the brain disorder — would definitely have some influence on his final decision.

“Of course,” Roethlisberger said, via Joe Rutter of the Tribune-Review. “I want to play catch with my kids. I want to know my kids names. As much as I want my kids to remember what I did and watch me play the game, I also want to remember them when I’m 70 years old.”

Roethlisberger called the study “alarming” and said that long-term brain injuries were not something he wanted to deal with.

“This shows there’s nothing to mess with. If you want to mess with your brain, you can’t put a new one in, you can’t have a brain transplant,” Roethlisberger said. “If you want to mess with your brain, go ahead. I’m not going to. I love my family and kids.

“This (study) is definitely some real-life stuff.”

By all accounts, the 35-year-old quarterback gave serious thought to retiring this past offseason. Having suffered multiple concussions in his career, you have to figure that it wouldn’t come as a huge surprise if 2017 proves to be his final NFL season.

H/T TheSpun