In the past few weeks we’ve seen a slew of athlete retirement news. From Super Bowl champion Nick Foles to Buffalo Bills linebacker Lorenzo Carter, athletes from a variety of sports have put down their cleats for good. For many athletes, retiring is a huge shift. It’s often a difficult transition from being an international superstar to surviving on minimum wages and navigating life without a sport that defined them. They also need to find their self-identity outside of the sport they’ve devoted so much time to.
The biggest challenge, however, can be financial. Elite athletes spend years training around the clock, forgoing regular jobs in order to train on a full-time basis. This can result in high debt and living close to the poverty line. It’s not uncommon for Olympians and Paralympians to rely on food stamps or rack up credit card debt in their early post-athletic careers.
Fortunately, more and more athletes are finding nontraditional ways to adjust to their new lives. From WNBA star Sue Bird to soccer legend Megan Rapinoe, and even Olympic medalists Peter Sagan and Tessa Worley.
It may be that these athletes feel they have more to give, or that there is another way to connect with the public and their fans, but it can also simply be that they don’t want to hang up their boots. Whether they’re coming back for money, fame or relevance, making the decision to retire is rarely easy.