Larry Fitzgerald Reveals Heartbreaking Reason He’ll Never Officially Retire From Football
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
Larry Fitzgerald played 17 stellar seasons as a wide receiver in the NFL, spending his entire career with the Arizona Cardinals.
Drafted third overall in 2004 out of Pittsburgh, he became an 11-time Pro Bowler. He also won the 2016 Walter Payton Man of the Year award and finished second in NFL history with 1,432 receptions and 17,492 receiving yards.
Despite not playing professional football for years, he has never retired from the game. That comes even as he was elected to the Hall of Fame.
Larry Fitzgerald Shares Views on Retirement Concept
The induction of Larry Fitzgerald into the Pro Football Hall of Fame approaches this Saturday. A formal commitment to retirement has still not been made by the legendary receiver.
“I have not committed to retirement,” was stated clearly by the 11-time Pro Bowler. Furthermore, the word itself is protested more than the actual end of playing.
During an intimate pre-ceremony interview with the team’s media department on Thursday, onlookers learned something incredibly unique about his mindset. Previously, the pass-catcher walked away from competitive league action following the conclusion of the 2020 regular season. To explain his ongoing philosophical stance, Larry Fitzgerald shared a poignant lesson passed down from older family members.
Advice from his grandfather and a longtime friend has remained influential over the years. Consequently, retirement is viewed as something that kills more people than anything else.
“They’d talk about retirement killing more people in our country than anything,” the 42-year-old explained.
Additionally, he noted that he merely chooses to protest the specific terminology rather than the reality of ending his athletic journey. These days, he is still navigating the loss of his father.
Fitzgerald Is An All-Time Great
Larry Fitzgerald constructed one of the most consistent, durable, and statistically dominant wide receiver careers in NFL history.
Known for his legendary catching ability, class, and loyalty to a single franchise, he is a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee in the Class of 2026. Fitzgerald ranks near the absolute top of every major modern receiving category. His career stats place him second only to Jerry Rice in total volume.
Fitzgerald has one of the most unique stat pairings in sports history. He was credited with more career tackles (41) after turnovers than he had dropped passes (29).
In the 2008 postseason, he orchestrated arguably the greatest playoff run by a wide receiver ever. Larry Fitzgerald set single-postseason NFL records with 30 receptions, 546 yards, and 7 touchdowns. Unfortunately, it led to a Super Bowl loss.
