The NFL expects intelligent, thoughtful ambassadors of humanity to play a game of How Much Money Can You Make Before Your Body Is Fucked For Life. Eventually, the smart players would start catching on how much their body is worth.
I don't see the NFL going anywhere...but I can envision a loss of the really intelligent players in the sport, in the sense of finding players who are all more than willing to bash their heads in even after knowing the reprocussions. there are more than enough people with the aggressive willingness to fill the shoes of an NFL starter, any day any time. with that kind of money...there most likely always will be.