What a loser. Do you realize how lucky you have to be to get invited to an nfl combine and have a chance to be drafted. He's wasting a chance to be an early round draft pick that millions would dream of. It makes me wonder why Nebraska would even want a kid playing on their team that doesn't want to be the best they can be and go to the NFL some day, especially when he had the ability. Hickman will deeply regret this decision. It's really not about the money, but the chance to experience the NFL is a dream of many. And the fact that he wants to be a coach means he obviously enjoys football which is another reason that makes no sense why he isn't playing. I would think he would want to tell his kids that he played in the NFL at least for a short amount of time. Hickman is young and could of played in the NFL for 5-8 years and saved up his money, then do what he really wants to do.
Did you read the fine print of the article?
Hickman has had multiple surgeries and has many foreign elements in his body just allow him to bend and move like normal people. You don't get that many screws in your body unless something is seriously wrong. Did you know he played the better part of a season with a bowling ball size bruise on his hip? Some guys can handle pain and injury better than others, and he proved his mettle well enough while in college. I would suggest not making judgments unless you yourself have been subjected to the physicality and stress of division one football.
Family is also extremely important to him. You may not know, but the NFL is an extremely grueling and competitive league. You have to be the best you can be and give 100% effort at all time. He wants to be able to be active with his kids as well as active in life in general, and he won't be able to do that (in his mind) if he goes to the NFL and further subjects himself to the bodily punishment he obviously can't handle for much longer.
The NFL may be important to some guys, but there have been many Husker players who hung up the cleats after their years here. It's a decision people make. Not everybody has the same desires and hopes as everyone else. You should respect him for his decision to protect his body and his mind, rather than throw in subjective remarks about how he should live his life and what he should do with it.