Andrew Luck still has no regrets about early NFL retirement: 'I’m right where I’m supposed to be'

Andrew Luck has always seemed more content about his early NFL retirement than the rest of us.

It seems like Luck retired just a bit ago, but it has been a while. More time has passed since Luck's retirement in 2019 (2,594 days) than the length of his NFL career (2,540 days from his debut to retirement). And yet, Luck still remains a curious figure because of the abruptness and surprise of his retirement, which he said was due to an unrelenting cycle of injuries and rehab. He's just 37 years old. Kirk Cousins , who has helped the Las Vegas Raiders to a 3-0 start and was in the 2012 NFL Draft like Luck, is 38.

For a few years after the retirement it was a pastime of fans to project a Luck comeback every time a quarterback got hurt, but that comeback never happened. Luck is happy with his job as the general manager of Stanford's football program. And he said this week he has no regrets.

"Nope," Luck said during an interview with Yahoo Sports Daily . "Not to say it wasn't a hard [decision], it was the hardest decision of my life probably up until that point, and maybe since as well, but no. It was exactly what needed to happen for me. Again, not an easy one, but the right one."

Had Luck never retired, he could still be playing and presumably doing so at a high level. Matthew Stafford , who won his first MVP last season, is a year older than Luck. But Luck will let everyone else worry about what might have happened, because he doesn't do so himself.

Andrew Luck watched Philip Rivers from afar

Plenty of quarterbacks get the itch to return. Philip Rivers was coaching high school football when he came out of retirement to play for the Indianapolis Colts late last season. Drew Brees said he thought about coming out of retirement for the Denver Broncos when they lost Bo Nix to injury before the AFC championship game last season, and texted Denver assistants Pete Carmichael and Joe Lombardi, his offensive coordinator and quarterback coach when he was with the Saints.

Rivers is seven years older than Luck, and didn't have the history with the Colts that Luck did. But Luck says the Colts didn't call him asking about a return.

"I have an amazing relationship with Chris Ballard, the GM of the Colts, amazing," Luck told Yahoo Sports Daily. "I consider him a mentor of mine, we have been through some 'ish' together and come out the other side and have a stronger relationship, so no. We are on the same page there."

Luck was interested in watching though. He said he was at a 49ers game with recently hired Stanford head coach Tavita Pritchard during Rivers' first game back since 2020, and was watching the Colts play the Seahawks on his iPhone.

"Like 99.9% of America, I was fascinated by Philip coming back and playing, and playing at a high level, and doing it as a grandfather," Luck said.

He just didn't have the desire to do it himself.

If Luck had continued to play, and was paid at or near the top of the quarterback pay scale every season since his retirement, he would have made more than $400 million more in career earnings from the NFL and counting.

Most people couldn't fathom stepping away from the fame and fortune of being an NFL quarterback just before you turn 30 years old, with perhaps a decade left to play. Then there's Luck, who reacted to a question about stepping away from the NFL by saying he was "stoked" about an espresso he just had.

"No regrets, and not to say I did things perfectly by any stretch of the imagination," Luck told Yahoo Sports Daily. "I learned a bunch from both the successful moments and the low moments of playing as a professional quarterback and for the Colts. But I think, life keeps moving forward. Thankful for the opportunites I had and I also feel full of purpose and passion as the general manager of Stanford football . I love this school, I love this program, there's a real mission we're on. I love working with these young men. I love our coaching staff.

"I'm right where I'm supposed to be. I have an amazing wife and two amazing daughters. Life keeps throwing wonderful pleasant gifts along the way."

After some years completely out of the spotlight, Luck came back to football with Stanford. He said he still believes in the character development that comes along with the sport. But he understands the darker side of football. When Joe Burrow wondered aloud last season, after multiple injuries, why he'd keep playing football if it wasn't fun anymore, everyone made the comparison to Luck stepping away right in his prime. Luck knows the toll the game can take.

"I think the majority of professional athletes go through questions like this at various points in their career," Luck said, when asked about Burrow. "That's part of being a professional athlete. Especially in a trying, violent — football is not a contact sport, it's a collision sport, and it can be trying."

And Luck had enough of that life as a player. He hasn't looked back.