Carolina's captain is calling it quits.
Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly announced via the team's Twitter account on Tuesday night that he is retiring after eight seasons in the league
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300...-eight-seasons
Carolina's captain is calling it quits.
Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly announced via the team's Twitter account on Tuesday night that he is retiring after eight seasons in the league
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300...-eight-seasons
Did he have noggin and brain injuries?
Yep - I recall there was talk a few years ago he might have to walk away while he still could because of the concussions
He missed 10 games in his NFL career due to concussions (3 in 2015; 6 in 2016; 1 in 2017), which may have led to his decision.
Kuechly was in tears when he was carted off the field after a concussion during the 2016 season, a striking moment that highlighted the NFL's ongoing problem with brain injuries.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...-retirement-28
Players at the level of Luck and Kuechly can afford to give it up at an earlier age to maintain what is left of their good health with the salaries being paid - might start seeing this more frequently from star players
Not bad at all.
https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/carolina...cash-earnings/
Seems like yesterday when he came into the league. The only LB with more all pros in his first 8 years was Lawrence Taylor. Always respected this guy
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
Link to and excerpt from article in The Ringer on top players walking away during what should still be their prime
Modern football, off the field, has come to feature something else Kuechly will now be a part of: the superstar who walked away. Since the beginning of last year, the sport has lost Rob Gronkowski, Andrew Luck, and Kuechly. Two other linebackers, Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman, who combined for nine first-team All-Pro appearances between them, hung it up in the past five years, out of the league before age 30. Receiver Calvin Johnson left at 30 after putting up over 1,200 yards the previous season. This is not unprecedented—Jim Brown and Barry Sanders were gone from football by 31 in previous decades, and each easily cleared the bar for Canton—but the past half-decade has brought a concentration of stars who’ve bailed early.
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2020/1...12-draft-class
As the amount of money to be earned has increased dramatically and the amount of information about the long-term effects of brain trauma has surfaced, today's players can now make the decision to get out of the game early instead of playing the maximum years possible and doing permanent damage. The current medical information and the prodigious financial earnings make that a very attractive option for many players.
You no longer need to be an elite player to make ridiculous money at a very young age and be set for life.
Kuechly was the best ILB of the decade. First ballot is likely out of the question (Willis wasn't even a finalist) but he should at least get in at some point