Andrew Luck and His Agonizing Decision

It was stunning to hear resounding boos from Indianapolis Colts fans directed towards QB Andrew Luck on Saturday after it was announced that he was retiring from the NFL because of repetitive injuries and the difficulty of rehabilitation. Prior to the announcement of his retirement, Luck was treasured by Colts fans for his immense talent and welcoming personality. But the shock of the loss of the most important player on the Colts roster expressed itself in derisive boos during the Colts' third preseason game against the Chicago Bears. Hopefully that was a reflexive momentary response and Luck will be cherished for his dedication to the city, team and teammates and his contributions to Indianapolis.

NFL players grow up in a unique form of denial about injury. From Pop Warner to the pros they are surrounded by teammates who ignore injury and will fight to play in every drive no matter how hurt they are. They give scant thought to long term health as a result of living in the moment. No ordinary body could withstand the stress of repetitive football hits. Only those rare athletes with freakishly special bodies that can withstand high levels of pain ever make it to the NFL and have long careers.

With the loss of QB Peyton Manning and his resurrection in winning the Super Bowl for the Denver Broncos, the Colts were in a bad spot. The selection of Luck as the first overall pick in the 2012 Draft and his subsequent play energized the team and helped them move into a talented playoff run last season. He was selected to the Pro Bowl four times and was Comeback Player of the Year in 2018. He lead the NFL in touchdown passes in 2014. He was a great leader who cared about everyone around him and helped bring a winning spirit to the franchise. He played seven years, and it's worth noting that this is longer than the average career.

Television screens and noise in stadia screens completely steers fans away from the actual ferocity of the game. Larger, stronger bodies moving at stunning speed create a G Force that makes every hit impactful. Stand on the sidelines for one NFL game and you will understand. It is akin to a traffic accident on every play. These are not pixelated figures on a Madden game, but actual human bodies being repetitively traumatized. And the injuries aggregate in a way that insures most players with long careers may have major difficulties living a normal post career life--walking easily, lifting their kids. Seemingly normal tasks that are taken for granted become extremely difficult because of the intensity of playing football at the highest level.

The fact that NFL players are paid handsomely seems to make some fans callous when it comes to understanding that players are real human beings who suffer from injuries to every joint in their bodies. Would they trade large parts of whatever they earned to be pain free and move easily? Not to mention the reality that many of them will experience a higher proclivity for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Dementia, CTE and depression from repetitive brain injuries from concussive hits.

So Andrew Luck, a Stanford graduate with a high IQ, has many possibilities to live a rewarding life in second career. Andrew also happens to be the son of the XFL commissioner and gave the NFL everything he had for as long as he could. It eventually became clear that he was plagued with chronic physical issues and perpetual rehabilitation would never allow him to be healthy enough to contribute at his previous level. He went through a process of talking with his new wife and family and others, and was deliberate in weighing all the issues, then making the agonizing decision to retire at age 29. This was not what Andrew Luck had planned. It was obvious in his press conference how gut-wrenching the decision was as well as how much he cared for the organization, his teammates and the community. May every player who has hit the end of his endurance of pain and injuries walk away with such grace.