Monday, June 12, 2000

Young goes out right

With one life to live, Niners quarterback plans on living it

By Jeff Agrest, Associate editor

Young is a pretty smart cookie. He earned a law degree from Brigham Young University in 1994. (He's Brigham's great-great-great grandson, you know.) He founded the Sport, Education and Values Foundation, which is dedicated to developing educational and value-based programs for America's youth. He even published a children's book geared toward fourth-graders.

So, Young put all of the wisdom he's accumulated from his 38-plus years on Earth and put it into this decision. Does he continue to play the game he loves, even though it threatens his existence? Or does he move on and put all of the knowledge he has to work?

Reluctantly, Young chose the latter. He knows he could still play at a high level, but the risk of ruining what he's worked so hard to achieve is too great. Four concussions in three years will make you think that way.

Young has so many options in his post-football life. He could pursue a future in law, he could continue his service to the community, he could even enter the television booth. I hear ABC has an opening for its "Monday Night Football" broadcast.

With so much to look forward to — and with so much at stake — Young had to call it quits. But health wasn't the only concern. Consider that if Young returned to the 49ers, the team would have taken a salary-cap hit of as high as $8.8 million. For a team in dire need of salary-cap space, retaining Young wouldn't be a very sound decision.

By retiring, Young not only saves himself, but the 49ers as well. Forget about the public-relations nightmare that was Joe Montana's move to Kansas City. The 49ers would have endured a similar fate had Young left for Denver. So, as he's done time and time again, Young takes one for the team, enhancing his image as not just a quality player, but a quality person.

Young leaves the game as its highest-rated quarterback, with a career passer rating of 97.6. He also owns the NFL record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (43), in addition to throwing a Super Bowl-record six TD passes in the '95 game. The records go on and on and on.

There will be other achievements in the years ahead, though many may go unnoticed because they won't be made on the football field. But that's OK. Young's given us myriad thrills on the gridiron. Now it's time for thrills of a different nature. Young can do much more for people off the field than he can on it. But for both, we should all be very thankful.

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