Athletic Retirement Quotes

After my time with a certain NFL team, I wanted to retire.

If I lose to DeLuca I will announce my retirement in the ring after.

The reality is that my style of drumming is largely an athletic undertaking, and it does not pain me to realize that, like all athletes, there comes a time to... take yourself out of the game.

I realise every swimmer has a shelf life. No, I haven't given any thought to when I will retire, but I also know I won't be able to swim forever.

I think, at 32, you are past your prime as a footballer.

I feel really good right now. It will really be a tough decision. It's so hard to give up what you love doing. Hanging up the boots will not be an easy thing to do.

Every year it happens. When I'm not putting up big numbers, I start hearing it - that I'm too old, that time finally has caught up with me.

I would always love to be an athlete, but it's got to be a tough day when you have to hang up those cleats.

When I retired, I stopped playing because of my body, so much pain and injuries.

I gave it everything in the last 20 minutes. I knew that I still had the energy, that I was ahead of the mark. I felt euphoric — it was the last 20 minutes of my sporting career.

Sport is the only profession I know of that when you retire you have to go to work.

I got into pro ball at 18 and played until I was almost 39, non-stop.

One thing you can't beat in this world is time. I learnt that the hard way. You can't play basketball forever. You can't play football forever. You can't bodybuild forever. I mean you CAN do it, but not at a high level against younger guys who have more time and have not reached their peaks yet. There's only so much the body can do and once you're done, you can't go back in time.

I boxed till my late 30s, so 47, that's impossible really to be at your best and if you aren't at your best you shouldn't be boxing.

I am preparing myself to leave football. I have always thought that once you get past 30, it is time to reflect on when you should go, and that is what I have done.

I don't want to be resentful to the sport. I want to be able to leave the sport on a high note.

I think I'm more muscular now than when I played football. I'm working hard on it. So many athletes just let themselves go after they stop competing. That was something I didn't want to do.

I will have won Wimbledon this year in 2013, and I will stop with that. It was magnificent. You will certainly see me at tournaments again, but not playing.

Boxing won’t retire me, I will retire from boxing.

Me not being able to play the way that I can play, that's when you kind of know it's that time.

Getting past 30 as a sportsman, the end could be just around the corner.

The day I left baseball, I became smart. When I was in baseball, I played for the love of the game. I'd sign any contract they gave me. But then I stopped playing and began doing interviews with the players at the ball park. I began to see the light.

In combat sports, you should retire on top. That is very hard to do. I'm glad I had the discipline to do it.

A guy as great as Brett Favre has been for the length of time he's been, you would hope that he would be able to leave the game with a positive flavor in his mouth.

I find it quite sad to see the likes of Evander Holyfield carrying on past their sell-by date.