Life After Football Quotes

After my time with a certain NFL team, I wanted to retire.

I don't know what my future holds. I'm gonna love playing football for as long as I can, but there's a lot of other things that I would love to accomplish.

The things that are happening to me are unbelievable. I'm actually busier right now than when I played football. This is almost like I'm coming back out of retirement. It will be fun to see myself in the game.

In spite of reports about playing with various teams, I'm enjoying retirement with my family and have no plans to play football.

I want to walk away from football when I retire and say, 'I gave that everything,' and then I will do something else and give that everything, because that's me. That's the way I am, and I will do that.

I have fun like a child in the street. When the day comes when I'm not enjoying it, I will leave football.

I am preparing myself to leave football. I have always thought that once you get past 30, it is time to reflect on when you should go, and that is what I have done.

In this case, I realize that, unlike when I was 22 years old, I realize now that football will not go on forever, it is a small part of your life.

I can't play football forever.

I have been a Manchester United fan all my life and fulfilled every dream I've ever had. I am disappointed that my playing days are at an end. However, it comes to us all and it's knowing when that time is and for me that time is now.

My legacy isn't about what I did playing football, but how I use the opportunities that came from playing football.

You must prepare to quit, and they should start doing that from day one because the average life of a pro-football player is only three and a half years. It's not five. It's not seven. It's not 10.

In the off season, you work out for two hours a day, and then you got all this other time off. I like doing other stuff. Football obviously isn't going to last a lifetime either, so it's always cool to get in front of a camera, do commercials, and do endorsements for products that you love.

People say you should go out at the top but I was enjoying my football so much. Robbie Fowler's exactly the same: he's not playing for money any more, he's playing for enjoyment. Why go out at the top if it's going to make you miserable? I just wanted to play as long as I could.

I think as long as I feel good and am able to perform on a high level, I will keep playing because I love football so much. After that, I have many options but haven't set any goals.

I'm totally convinced that the end of my football career is just the beginning of something I haven't even discovered yet.

When I'm retired someday, when I'm done playing football, that's when I'll be relaxing and look back at some things.

I'm grateful for everything I have achieved in football, but now I'd rather do other things, go and watch games and enjoy discussing them afterwards.

I have so much to look forward to after football.

From my point of view what I have to do now is appreciate and enjoy what football gave me, but now do something else with the same energy and enthusiasm I gave to football without expecting the same results.

Oftentimes, even myself as I've come through my entire career from high school all the way up here, everything has been football, football, football. And then you realize that life is much bigger than this game, especially when you start thinking about life after football and what you want to leave behind.

Playing for 14 years definitely took its toll mentally. I decided when I was playing my last season that when I retired from football I would never go back into it, and I've never regretted that decision.

I wanna play until I am 45 if my body will let me. After football, I have no idea.

I've always liked to keep myself busy so I don't get sucked in by temptations and that was part of the reason why I set up my BMO brand - to keep me occupied during my career, but also for when I finish football.

Something clicked, and I was like, 'I gotta be prepared. This could end at any time.' That was my second year in the league. From that point on I started doing broadcasting and things like that in an attempt to find my passion - something I could do after football.