Magazine content is available exclusively for TIME subscribers.Pro Football: Siren Song
"Grand opportunities for young men," beckoned the ads. "Be a TV celebrity." "See the country." One outfit's brochure promised a salary "double that of the average U.S. working man." A rival offered free life insurance (up to $20,000 worth), free medical coverage, bonuses (up to $6,700 a year) and retirement pensions (up to $821 a month). "Statistics show," it warned archly, "that out of every 100 people who reach the age of 65, 84 are flat broke, eight are weak financially, six are comfortable, and two are well off." Sign on the...
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