The 24 hour NFL media circus was stunned on Saturday evening when 29 year old Indianapolis Quarterback Andrew Luck announced his immediate retirement from the game . Luck was hailed as a once in a generation talent when he was drafted with the first pick in the 2012 NFL draft from Stanford University. Luck was picked over Heisman trophy winner Robert Griffin III who has not lived up to his college hype and is currently a backup in Baltimore, having seen injury ruin his career. Luck replaced the hall of fame bound Peyton Manning, another Quarterback whose body had broken down due to the wear and tear of the NFL. Manning moved on to Denver where he rode into the sunset with Super bowl 50 in his possession. Meanwhile, Luck toiled behind the porous Colts offensive line to take his team to the play offs in his first three professional seasons, including two divisional titles in 2013 and 2014.

Luck made the off season pro bowl on four occasions where the best talent in the NFL is selected to play in a cross conference all-star game. Luck suffered his fair share of injuries on top of the usual physical punishment NFL players endure; this required upmost professionalism in regards to keeping himself in peak physical fitness and following strict rehab and prehab regimes. The Quarterback is also a unique position in sport where they are at the epicentre of every play, a leader of the team on and off the field who is the true face of the franchise making a player like Luck a rare commodity. The injuries that Luck sustained that have been publicised include: Torn cartilage in his ribs after receiving heavy hits when sacked, a partially torn Abdomen and at least one concussion. These injuries pale into insignificance compared to his most serious injuries. Luck lacerated his kidney in a regular season game against the much vaunted Denver Broncos defence in 2015 and amazingly played on to secure the win. This left Luck with blood in his urine and he was out of the game for 6 weeks which highlights the steel and determination Luck played with. In the same season Luck tore the Labrum in his throwing shoulder ,a frankly catastrophic injury for a Quarterback. Following surgery Luck did not return in 2017 due to a slow recovery process.

After 2016 when i played in pain and was unable to regularly practice. I made a vow to myself that i would not go down that path again.

The promise Luck made when in the midst of his injury battle.

The Andrew Luck injury saga continued into the 2018 preseason, the colts had struggled without the Stanford man under centre and it spoke volumes that Luck remained out of the public eye for the vast majority of this injury. Luck was finally cleared to play for the 2018 season and spoke candidly in a TV Interview about his thought processes around leaving Football due to the severe impact this injury had on his mental state. In 2016 Luck signed a multi million dollar contract extension which saw him set to make $85 million of guaranteed money over 5 years. Luck was obviously exhausted whilst battling to make his return and the intelligent man described his anguish in a humble and realistic manner. Luck returned in 2018 and lit up the league when taking the Colts to the play offs after one win and 5 losses in their first six games. Luck and his offence turned the corner and hit a rich vein of form in the mid-season. Luck’s wide receiver T Y Hilton and tight end Eric Ebron prospered from Luck’s talent and intelligence on the field.

For the last four years or so, I’ve been in this cycle of injury,pain, rehab and it’s been unceasing, unrelenting.

An insight into the side of Football the fans don’t see.

Luck was being tipped to follow on from his comeback player of the season award to make a strong challenge for NFL MVP in 2019 when stories about a calf/ lower leg injury were reported at the start of training camp, A déjà vu situation occurred when it seemed that Luck’s injury was failing to respond to treatment. The Colts communicated their intentions to get Luck ready to start the regular season behind the improved offensive line. However Luck called an impromptu press conference during the Colts third pre-season game against Chicago. Here in an emotional interview he announced his retirement sending shock waves through the NFL.  Luck cited the cycle of injury, pain, rehab as becoming unbearable and felt unable to continue to put his body through the grind of another NFL season.

This is not an easy decision, Honestly it’s the hardest decision of my life. But it is the right decision for me.

Andrew Luck describing his recent turmoil.

This is a huge decision for an athlete to make, especially an athlete yet to reach his peak in terms of age. Luck has made a decision purely based on his wellbeing which is a decision to be commended. Much is made of the money professional athletes earn but this has never seemed to be the motivation for Luck. What no one appreciates is the toll the game takes on a players body, the playing through injury for the good of the team and the countless extra hours in the film room or on the physio table. Let alone the sacrifice as a youngster which is usually the factor which separates the super stars from the players who fall by the wayside despite having an abundance of natural talent. Luck has fulfilled his duties as the face of the franchise in an unassuming manner. He has attended numerous charity events and has not caused any controversy for his employer. Luck has also been an important player to the British NFL media, he formed a close relationship with Sky Sports NFL journalist Neil Reynolds. Luck recognised the importance of the UK to the NFL having spent time living in England when his father was working for the NFL from their London office.

I’ve been stuck in this process. I haven’t been able to live the life i want to live.

Luck detailing the impact injuries have had on his life outside of Football.

Luck leaves a legacy of a player with an abundance of talent who gained the respect of his team mates and opponents on and off the field. I can compare this decision to that of Sam Warburton who retired last year having captained the British Lions twice and won grand slams as captain of Wales. Warburton described his penny dropping when he was unable to play with his daughter on a trampoline after a pre-season training session. Luck’s decision has made more column inches over the world but these two men appear to be cut from the same cloth. Both intelligent players who have behaved in an ultra-professional manner to perform at the elite level of the game. Their intelligence has allowed them the insight into the long term sustainability of their career. Luck is surely destined for a role in coaching if desired and will also be a much sought after member of the game day broadcast teams for one of the major television companies. His career as a player has ended, but he has the rest of his life ahead of him, he will continue to develop as a human being which is far more important than his achievements on the field.

His last moment as an employee of the Indianapolis colts saw him being booed off the field after the crowd learned of his intention to retire. A man whose commitment and toughness cannot be questioned as described in this article has been accused of being soft and taking the easy option. I personally don’t think Luck has ever taken the easy option in his football career, the reaction of these fans is shameful and short sighted. This reaction displays that this fan base does not deserve a franchise player of Luck’s ilk, but the NFL being the NFL I can imagine Indianapolis getting Trevor Lawrence in two years’ time to launch them on another journey with a once in a generation Quarterback.

(Photo taken from official NFL Twitter account)