Top 5 Athlete Retirements That Still Feel Way Too Early
They walked away near their peak, and fans are still quietly doing the math on what could have been.
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Barry Sanders — Detroit Lions, 1999
He faxed his retirement to a newspaper while 1,457 yards short of the all-time rushing record. The most Barry Sanders exit possible.
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Andrew Luck — Indianapolis Colts, 2019
He retired at 29 during the preseason and got booed walking off the field. Years later, it looks like the smartest call in the building.
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Björn Borg — Tennis, 1983
Eleven Grand Slams and done at 26, right as the McEnroe rivalry was getting good. Tennis has been wondering what if ever since.
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Jim Brown — Cleveland Browns, 1966
He led the league in rushing in eight of his nine seasons and then left at 30 to make movies. Nobody has ever left football on better terms.
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Calvin Johnson — Detroit Lions, 2016
Megatron retired at 30 with plenty left, mostly because he was tired of Detroit losing. Hard to argue with that, which makes it worse.