--- description: The announcement comes days after the 24-year-old said he was retiring due to concerns over potential head trauma injury. title: Retiring 49ers Linebacker Chris Borland Will Return Most of Signing Bonus image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Football](/tag/football/) ## Football Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Retiring 49ers Linebacker Chris Borland Will Return Most of Signing Bonus by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 22, 2015 6:27 PM CUT by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 22, 2015 6:27 PM CUT Retiring San Francisco 49ers linebacker Chris Borland said he would pay back three-fourths of his signing bonus in an appearance Sunday on CBS’ _Face The Nation_ program. That equates to paying back more than $463,000, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. > [](https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/579665791492075520) Host Bob Schieffer asked Borland whether or not he was having buyer’s remorse. Borland responded that, to the contrary, he was being accused of a money grab. He then announced his intentions to pay back the bonus, [according to](http://www.ninersnation.com/2015/3/22/8272461/chris-borland-retirement-signing-bonus-return "undefined") _Niners Nation_. The announcement comes just days after the 24-year-old [told ESPN’s ](http://www.si.com/nfl/2015/03/16/san-francisco-49ers-chris-borland-retire-safety "undefined")[_Outside The Lines_](http://www.si.com/nfl/2015/03/16/san-francisco-49ers-chris-borland-retire-safety "undefined")he was retiring from the NFL due to concerns over potential head trauma injury. “I just honestly want to do what’s best for my health. From what I’ve researched and what I’ve experienced, I don’t think it’s worth the risk,” said Borland earlier this month, who made the 49ers aware of his decision on Mar. 13. Borland, who played one year of collegiate football at Wisconsin, logged one season in the NFL. He had two interceptions, one sack and 84 tackles for the 49ers in 2014. Borland is among at least four NFL players who have chosen to retire recently, according to ESPN. [_This article originally appeared on SI.com_](http://www.si.com/nfl/2015/03/22/chris-borland-retire-san-francisco-49ers-return-signing-bonus "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3753553/chris-borland-49ers-return-signing-bonus/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3753553/chris-borland-49ers-return-signing-bonus/"},"headline":"Retiring 49ers Linebacker Chris Borland Will Return Most of Signing Bonus","datePublished":"2015-03-22T18:27:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T05:20:41.241Z","description":"The announcement comes days after the 24-year-old said he was retiring due to concerns over potential head trauma injury","url":"https://time.com/3753553/chris-borland-49ers-return-signing-bonus/","keywords":["Football"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/football/","name":"Football"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3753553/chris-borland-49ers-return-signing-bonus/","name":"Retiring 49ers Linebacker Chris Borland Will Return Most of Signing Bonus"}}]}] ```