Are there some players that have bad health because of playing professional sports? Yes.
But there are also many that are healthy, and rich.
My back is bad because the company i worked at was too cheap to salt the parking lot and i fell. I got 3 grand. That happened in 1993. I now have arthritus of the spine and am in constant pain. Often not even being able to get out of a chair without damn near falling, and shooting pain.
My wife also fell in the parking lot where she works, because they didn't salt it. She has a ruptured disc. But she's not one to cause trouble, and kept working anyway. And because she tried to keep working, they said "Then it can't be that bad, can it?" Plus they filed it as workman's comp.......which she was coming into work. She had not punched in yet.
So for her trying hard, trying not to screw the company she works for, for being HONEST, she's screwed over.
What i'm getting at is this: EVERY physical job cause you to end up in pain when you get older. And most jobs don't give you anything to live on once you can't work anymore. I sure don't get anywhere CLOSE to 40 grand a year. Not even a forth of that. If it wasn't for my wife working 12 hours a day, i'd be a street person.
But i can see why the players hold out for all they can get. Who can blame them?