NFL Players Who Announced Their Retirement Early

Several NFL players hang up their cleats at the prime of their career, or just after the best season in their history. Generally, NFL players retire due to age-related issues, which in turn affects their chances of finding a spot on a team’s roster. But many of these players who retired at the height of their career had time on their side, yet, they chose to quit early. Here are some greats who quit and why. 

Andrew Luck.

As someone who retired only in 2019, he is a much newer addition to this list. His career was blazing, but so were his injuries. He had had enough of his injuries that he didn’t wait for a pro league game to call it quits. His last game was a pregame warmup, and he quit even before the regular season had started. He was only 29 at the age of retirement; several players played well into their thirties before making this decision. Luck stated that injuries and rehab had taken a toll on his body and psyche, and he decided to quit after playing 86 regular-season games. 

This decision comes after he played the entire 2016 season with injuries and pain, and missed the entirety of 2017 due to the several surgeries he needed to fix his injuries. He did come back in 2018 to the Colts and went up to the second round of playoffs. He made it to the Pro Bowl that same year and won the title of NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year. But right after this, his injuries came up again, and he decided to end the cycle in 2019. 

Calvin Johnson.

Johnson went down in history as one of the best receivers of the century. He retired at the age of 30, which was right at the end of the 2015 season. He played nine seasons with Detroit. His decision came in the light of his several injuries which wouldn’t stop plaguing him. He was anointed as Megatron for his unstoppable wide receiving abilities. He has been to the Pro Bowl six times and is slated to be inducted in the Hall of Fame of the Pro Bowl in 2021. He has led the NFL in receiving yards twice. 

During his retirement conference, he made it clear that his decision came in the light of how much his body had gone through due to the game. The wear and tear on his body made him play less efficiently, and he did not find it wise to play at anything less than his 100% effort. He also stated that his decision had been easier to make since the Lions hadn’t won much during his nine-year span with them. They lost at both of their playoff appearances. 

Terrell Davis.

One of the greatest legends of the 90s, Davis has two Super Bowl championships under his belt. He led the Broncos to back-to-back victories in 1998 and 1999. He was also the MVP for Super Bowl XXXII after running for 157 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carry in a 31-24 win against the Packers. He retired before the 2002 season began when he was only 29. He still holds the NFL record for most yards in a single postseason, which shows just how much of a great player he was. 

His retirement reason - his serious knee injury that he sustained early on during the 1999 season. After this, he only played 17 games over the seasons before retiring. The injury led to a degenerative condition that doctors couldn’t assure would get better. He stated that while he still wanted to play, his body wouldn’t be able to take the stress. He retired with over 56 own or shared franchise records. Although he played only a total of 78 regular-season games, he was inducted into the Pro Bowl Hall of Fame in 2017. 

Barry Sanders.

His retirement was arguably the most shocking of his time. Sanders was only 31 years old (over 21 years ago now) when he announced his retirement before the beginning of the 1999 season. He was only 1,457 yards from breaking Payton’s all-time rushing record, which Emmitt Smith ultimately broke in 2002. Sanders did not quit due to any threatening injury and clearly not due to age. He stated that he wanted to get out of the game more than play it, and it seemed to be a highly personal decision that was not discussed in detail in public.