It has been one full week since Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck surprisingly retired, and public opinion remains split on his decision. Some view him as “soft” or “selfish” for walking away from the NFL a mere two weeks from the start of the regular season. Others, however, feel that his decision was completely justified and support the fact that Luck is trying to get to a better mental space.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers weighed in on the matter recently, and he actually applauds Luck’s decision to walk away from the NFL at such a young age.
Videos by PopCulture.com
As he explained on the Rich Eisen Show, Rodgers actually views this decision as selfless instead of selfish due to Luck choosing to give up an eight-figure salary in order to pursue a healthy and happy post-football life.
.@AaronRodgers12 tells @RichEisenShow that Andrew Luck’s decision to retire was selfless
(via @brlive)pic.twitter.com/w1gupsoiFd
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) August 30, 2019
“It’s the groundhog day effect it [injuries] has on your mind,” Rodgers told Rich Eisen, “when you are so focused on rehab, and a lot of the rehab is repetitive. And if you don’t see any types of jumps in recovery, say it’s in a week, two weeks, or for a major injury, a month, you know, it definitely messes with your mind a lot. And I think it’s natural to begin thinking about your post-career health…”
As Rodgers explained, these thoughts can revolve around potential surgeries or the after-effects of concussions. No matter what injury is being discussed, Rodgers believes that it’s only natural to be considering mental health, happiness, and retirement.
That being said, Rodgers doesn’t envision walking away from the football field at this point despite the multiple injuries sustained throughout his own career. As he joked to Eisen, Rodgers will be riding off into the sunset at the age of 45 after he wins a Super Bowl.
On a more serious note, Rodgers did explain that walking away from the NFL will require that he no longer enjoys the grind during training camp or the work involved to get better on a daily basis. He is not alone in this opinion considering that many quarterbacks, including Tom Brady, have cited the “love of the process” as a reason why they are still active.
Obviously, this change in mindset comes at different times for each player, and Rodgers hasn’t reached that point in his career just yet. That being said, he won’t be critiquing Luck for deciding to walk away from the NFL. Instead, the Packers quarterback will be applauding him.
