Andrew Luck got paid but he should have held out for more money in his career.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck stunned the sports world on Saturday when he announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 29.
Even more shocking than his retirement is the fact that Andrew Luck could be leaving on the table by ending his career in the National Football League.Jim Irsay said on Saturday that Luck could potentially be giving up as much as $450 million in future salary.
Spotrac, a sports data company, says that Andrew Luck has earned more than $90 million in total salary in his seven seasons in the NFL.The first three years of a six-year extension he signed before the 2016 NFL season are included.Had he played out the final two years of his contract, he would have earned a total of 140 million dollars.
Luck, who made four Pro Bowl teams and led the Colts to the playoffs four times, announced his decision to retire after suffering multiple new injuries (to his calf and ankle) as he prepared for the first week of September.
Despite a long list of injuries, including a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder that forced him to miss the entire 2017, Luck's retirement still caught the NFL world by surprise, mostly because of his young age.At least two notable quarterbacks will start the upcoming season over the age of 40, one of which is Tom Brady, who is fresh off winning his sixth Super Bowl.
It's fair to assume that if his injuries hadn't convinced him to retire early, his NFL career could have lasted several more seasons.If Luck's career continued into his 30s, he would have pulled in nine figures if he had earned the $450 million predicted by Irsay.
First of all, retiring now means that Luck is giving up more than 50 million dollars on his current contract.At the age of 32 years old, Luck would be able to sign a massive new deal with the Colts or any other NFL team, at which point he would have been eligible to do so.
At the time, Luck's contract extension made him the highest-paid player in the league, at an average of $23.3 million per season.Had Luck been able to recover from his latest injuries and continue playing at a high level, he would have signed a new deal that would make him one of the league's best-paid players.
The Indianapolis Star newspaper reported on Sunday that Seattle's Russell Wilson is the highest-paid player in the National Football League at $35 million per year.It is possible that Luck's next contract could have earned him as much as $50 million annually.
The reality is that Luck's career has been cut short because of his injuries.
In a news conference on Saturday, Luck said his retirement was the hardest decision of his life.He told reporters that his injuries had worn him down.
I'm still in pain.Four years has passed since Luck said it had been pain.There are a number of issues, including calf strain, ankle impingement, and high ankle sprain.I will be figuring out how to feel better.
The first athlete to surprise the world with an early retirement was Luck.Among the other recent examples from the NFL are former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, who retired after the most recent NFL season, as well as Former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber,who retired at 31 in 2006 and went on to enjoy a post-NFL career in television.Many former players have found success after their playing days are over, including as coaches or executives for football teams.