Justin Timberlake Says Son Will 'Never Play Football'

Justin Timberlake told reporters at his Super Bowl 52 press conference Thursday that his two-year-old son Silas will not be allowed to play football as he gets older.

"Uh, he will never play football," Timberlake said, according to ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert. "No, no.

"I mean, yeah, it's kind of like that thing where my main objective is that he become a great person," Timberlake added. "And if he wants to get into the arts or sports, then yeah, I would fully support that."

CBS News relayed video of Timberlake's complete response, which was prompted by a question regarding Silas' possible future in the music industry: 

Timberlake didn't specify why his son won't play football, but it's worth noting his comments came less than a week after the NFL announced players suffered 281 concussions in 2017. According to USA Today's Lindsay H. Jones and Lorenzo Reyes, that figure is the highest the league has reported in the last six years. 

Beyond Timberlake, Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre has stated early last month he would have misgivings about his grandchildren playing football at a young age. 

"I have three grandsons—and people may wonder why a retired player would be so adamant about concussions and making the environment safer—I don't know if they'll play football. They're eight [years], three [years] and several months old," Favre told CBS Sports' Pick Six Podcast (h/t New York Daily News' Brett Bodner). 

"What little bit I know now—and it's more than when I played—concussions [are] not good. And definitely not for a youth."