CANTON, Ohio -- As Larry Fitzgerald prepares to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, there's one thing he has yet to do in his illustrious career.
Retire.
Fitzgerald has not formally or officially stepped away from football or the Arizona Cardinals. The 42-year-old last played in 2020, the final of 17 seasons, all with the Cardinals. Retirement was a constant topic of conversation for his final few seasons, but Fitzgerald always said he didn't want a farewell tour filled with pomp and circumstance. He said he'd just walk away quietly.
That's exactly what he did. But why? It's because of a conversation he said he heard his grandfather had with a friend, John Stroger, a longtime Chicago commissioner.
"I remember them talking about retirement killing more people in our country than anything," Fitzgerald said Thursday in Canton, Ohio. "And so that always stuck with me. And so, I just don't believe in retirement. I just think you transition into different phases, especially as an athlete."
He played his last game at 37 years old.
"Retired? What do you mean retired?" he said about using the word. "There's no retirement in sight. And, so, I don't know. I protest the word more than the actual thing. So, I just want to acknowledge that."
Fitzgerald ended up spending all 17 seasons of his career in Arizona but said Thursday that he considered leaving the Cardinals at one point.
"I would be lying to you if it didn't cross my mind, I didn't think about it, maybe even had conversations about it, but never seriously tried to put it in motion," Fitzgerald said. "I loved where I was at. And quite frankly, I don't know if it would've meant the same for me if I went to somewhere where it was already some super team."