Nearly six years ago, the Colts underwent a franchise-altering event when quarterback Andrew Luck shockingly decided to retire just weeks before the start of the regular season. Luck, the then-reigning Comeback Player of the Year, retired after injuries and pain derailed his career and caused him to fall out of love with football.
It was never what was intended or expected. Luck told Zak Keefer of The Athletic he originally thought he’d play in the NFL until he was 40 or 45. A generational prospect coming out of Stanford, Luck was tabbed as the Colts’ future after their decision to part ways with Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning. He initially lived up to that bar. Though he didn’t lead the Colts to a Super Bowl, he brought them to the postseason in four of the five seasons he was mostly healthy for.
Luck knows he made the right choice for himself, but he acknowledged to Keefer that he still feels the impact his decision left on his team.
“I’ll always have guilt about how it ended,” Luck says, via Keefer. “I let my teammates down.”
Since Luck’s abrupt retirement, the Colts have yet to find their long-term answer at quarterback. They have posted winning record three times in that span, but with just one postseason appearance to show. It’s not Luck’s fault that Indianapolis hasn’t been able to bring in the right guy since he retired, but it’s also pretty clear the team would be much more successful if he kept playing.
Luck might still feel some guilt over how his retirement played out, but it does seem it’s motivated him as he’s taken on the job of general manager for his alma mater, Stanford. The Cardinal has gone 3-9 in each of the last four seasons and has not posted a winning record since 2018. Luck is leading the charge as Stanford looks to embrace NIL and the modern ways of college football, and is taking on the responsibility of trying to turning the program around once again.
“I owe it to them,” he says of the Stanford players. “That part of it is personal to me.”
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