In a rare moment of vulnerability, former Indianapolis Colts quarterback, Andrew Luck, spoke with ESPN’s Seth Wickersham and detailed the reasons behind his stunning sudden retirement in 2019. Luck started his career as a promising quarterback, drafted in the first round by the Colts and being selected to the Pro Bowl his first three years. Injuries, however, caused him to miss most of the 2015 season before returning for the 2016 season. He would miss the 2017 season due to another injury, but in 2018 it looked like things were turning around again for Luck when he led the Colts to the playoffs and earned the AP Comeback Player of the Year honor. However, two weeks before the 2019 season started, Andrew Luck shocked the football world by announcing his retirement. 

It was not an easy decision by any means, with Luck revealing how he had written up a statement about his retirement and saved it under the name “ALUCK-FIRST DRAFT.” In speaking with Wickersham, Luck revealed that the cycle of playing, injury, and rehab had taken a toll on his body and that it was time to “remove himself from football.” But his issue ran deeper than physical pain. He shared that his identity had become totally wrapped up in his position as a quarterback and that it had harmed his relationships. “To play quarterback, you’re not allowed to worry about anything except the task at hand. And that seeps into other areas of life. It’s not the healthiest way to live,” he said. Luck’s comments mirror some of the recent conversations on what it takes to be an elite player as Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady ended their 13-year marriage. Although exact details are unclear, many criticisms have been along the line that Bundchen was angered by Brady’s decision to put his career over their family. 

When Luck finally began to share his struggles with his wife, Nicole Pechanec, whom he had married earlier in 2019, he was able to really see that football was no longer where he wanted to be. By August, just before the season started, Luck and Nicole were now expecting their first child together. As Wickersham writes, “[Luck] had responsibilities and promises beyond himself and the Colts. He was coming close to saying out loud what he had disclosed only to Nicole and a few others: that he wasn’t sure he wanted to do this anymore. Not could. Wanted. He had proved that he could play at a high level. He had received plenty of praise and criticism, enough to know that neither of those things matters.” Although Luck stated he did wish he had announced his retirement right after the 2018 season, he did not regret the change. “There were some things that, when I looked in the mirror, I did not like about myself. I was self-absorbed, withdrawn, in pain, and feeling pressure,” he reflected. Luck hasn’t completely cut himself off from football. On December 6th, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, where he gave a shout-out to his former head coach at Stanford, Jim Harbaugh. He has also hinted that he would consider coaching in the future.