Retirement from Sports Quotes

It was clear to me that I was never going to be the same kind of player I had been. It was time to quit.

Once you're a football player, you're a football player for life. You always think of yourself in terms of that. We all do. It's hard to get rid of when you can't play anymore.

I love the sport but it's definitely taken a toll on me. The first two years after I retired I was in pain and couldn't even sit in a chair for 2 years. 2 years! You want a sport that takes care of you the way you take care of the sport.

I can't see myself playing as a 36-year-old.

You always see people coming back to the sport, and I've always thought, 'Gosh, when you're done playing, wouldn't you just want to stay at home?'

Sport that consumed me for over two decades . . . is now gone. Now it's just me. No pressure, no expectations, no need to be fast, good, strong or to even improve. Yet I can't let go of this idea that I always need to be more than I am. And it is eating me alive.

It's easier for me to accept that I can't play anymore because I literally gave it all I got. That allows me to be a little bit more at peace.

The love of playing trumps all of that, to be honest with you. Even the day I retire, I'll still be playing somewhere.