Last Saturday, I had the Chicago Bears preseason game on in the background at one of my summer parties. I had the volume down as music was playing and people were conversing. Drinking a few beers as you glance up at the preseason football, does not mean nothing. It was the news scrolling on the bottom of the screen that made you jump off your seat. Twenty nine year old Andrew Luck hanging up the spikes for the Indianapolis Colts. If you drafted him on your fantasy team, you are checking the waiver wire learning this information. Andrew Luck might not be in my top five quarterbacks of the league. I would say he lands in the top ten passers of the league. To walk away from the millions of dollars on the table. To walk away from a team that the ceiling is very high on it’s future. Is this the smart decision overall? Many people from all over have chimed in and thrown their two cents into the ring about his choice to walk away. Who is right and who is wrong ?
The Indianapolis Colts let Peyton Manning walk out of their lives because of an injury to his neck that sidelined him for a whole season. The reason the Colts let Manning walk was drafting Andrew Luck, number one overall. Peyton Manning went to the Broncos and ended up winning another Super Bowl. Andrew Luck came into the league and did very well. In a six year career coming out of Stanford, Luck has thrown 171 touchdown passes. Only 83 interceptions which is great ratio. He passed for 23,671 yards with a QB rating at 89.5 for his career. He has a winning record behind center for the Indianapolis Colts going 53 -33 for his career. He has an even record at 4-4 in the playoffs over that six year span.
Why is Andrew Luck walking away from a game where he is well paid and which he is pretty good at? In football, it comes down to injuries. Andrew Luck was the comeback player of the year last season as he was inactive for the whole 2017 season dealing with an injury. Like all football players he has dealt with concussions as that is the norm in the NFL. To his list of battle wounds comes a torn labrum and lacerated kidney. This year he was dealing with some leg issues. Let’s not forget the mental part of the game as it can take a toll on your body, just as bad as the physical. Plus as a quarterback all the hits you take back there as you’re constantly peeling yourself off the carpet in a 4 quarter game.
Many are outraged that Luck is walking away from the game because of his timing. Two week before the season is going to start, it puts the Colts in a difficult situation trying to find a replacement. Andrew Luck was in doubt to start the season, as the job was going to Jacoby Brissett, who has some seasoning in the NFL over the last few seasons. They were hoping Brissett could win a few games while Andrew Luck got healthy and then pass on the torch when he came back. It is a solid plan for a very solid team.They had hopes on improving themselves as they made the playoffs last season and made it to the second round. Now some people are lashing out with Luck walking away from a bright future with the Indianapolis Colts.
To walk away from a very successful career is mind blowing. It comes down to what the body is saying. If the body is saying it cant take another NFL season, it’s time to walk away. The timing sucks but it’s a very difficult decision to make. If Andrew Luck went out on the field and went through the motions or even seriously hurt himself even more, then what would the haters say then? Guys like Steve Beuerlein, who I used to like, threw his two cents in the ring. It’s not his mind or body, so who is he to speak about someone else’s decision. Glad Beuerlein played many years in the NFL. Half of them holding a clipboard.
Andrew Luck left about 60 Million dollars on the table walking away with his current contract. Jim Irsay, the owner of the Colts, estimated Luck would have earned 450 million dollars if he continued to play, let’s say another ten years. That is a lot of cheddar. However if your mind becomes nothing but mush, how will you enjoy that money. Sure it’s great for his family’s future, but this is a guy who graduated from Stanford University. This is a guy that did not take stupid football classes. Andrew Luck loves to read and is very interested in architecture. He could be building communities for your children in the future. Luck has made very nice money playing in the NFL for six seasons. He has many highlights as well. To walk away from the game you loved and be able to walk and function and pass on money is both insane and genius. It’s his decision. Everyone has a new chapter in life at some point and Andrew Luck is turning the page. It sucks for the Colts. But he gave you everything he had. This is not take the money and run. This is a guy that has other things to do in life. Fans need to respect what’s in the man’s heart and let him walk away in the sunset. The Colts will have another day, another season when a new guy will lead them back into the promised land. Maybe it will be Jacoby Brissett.
The Wild shamrock 