35 Professional Athletes Who Played Too Long

By Thomas Delatte on

Many children start playing soccer when they are four years old. They can play tee-ball at five, basketball and football at six, and by the time they are seven, they may be playing hockey too. If they are talented enough, they will continue playing their favorite sport in high school and, if they are really lucky, college. Some kids might even get a full paid scholarship to play sports at the collegiate level.

For the majority of student-athletes, their athletic careers will end the moment they graduate from college. But for the select few that end up making it to the professional level, their careers are just beginning. For the top player in football, they could be playing for another 10 years before retiring. For baseball or hockey, it could be even longer. If it is basketball, the top players are looking at a career of 15 to 20 years.

If you add it all up, that means that when an elite NFL player turns 40, he has likely been playing football for close to 34 years. Between all the two-a-days, off-season workouts, mid-week practices, bus rides and flights for road games, he has done nothing but lived and breathed football. He has broken bones and bled for his teammates. He has fought through excruciating pain to stay in games because he knows that the fans will not understand if he misses playing time. He has become used to playing in front of 60,000+ screaming fans that either love him or hate him. He is addicted to the game and giving it up is not an easy call.

So how does he leave the game behind him and fill the void that is going to eat at him for the rest of his life? How can a man walk away from a game that he has given his life for?

Is Adrian Peterson the next to join this list?

Many professional athletes run into this predicament as their careers come to an end and most of them make the right decision, even if it hurts them to make it, to retire on a high note. Then there are those athletes that cannot let go and end up spending their last couple years struggling to play at the highest level. Those are the players we are here to discuss today. Here are 35 athletes who waited too long to retire.

35) Dikembe Mutombo, C, NBA

Year: 2008-09
Age at Retirement: 42
Team: Houston Rockets
Final Season (Avgs): 9 Games, 38.5 FG%, 1.8 Pts, 3.7 Reb, 1.2 Blk

34) Jason Giambi, DH, MLB

Year: 2014
Age at Retirement: 43
Team: Cleveland Indians
Final Season: 26 Games, 0.133 Avg, 3 R, 8 H, 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 12 K, 9 BB

33) Ed Reed, S, NFL

Year: 2013
Age at Retirement: 35
Team: New York Jets
Final Season: 14 Games, 27 Tackles, 3 Int

32) Chipper Jones, 3B, MLB

Year: 2012
Age at Retirement: 40
Team: Atlanta Braves
Final Season: 112 Games, 0.287 Avg, 58 R, 111 H, 23 2B, 14 HR, 62 RBI, 51 K, 57 BB

31) Karl Malone, PF, NBA

Year: 2003-04
Age at Retirement: 40
Team: Los Angeles Lakers
Final Season (Avgs): 42 Games, 48.3 FG%, 13.2 Pts, 8.7 Reb, 3.9 Ast, 1.2 Stl, 0.5 Blk

30) Alonzo Mourning, C, NBA

Year: 2007-08
Age at Retirement: 37
Team: Miami Heat
Final Season (Avgs): 25 Games, 54.7 FG%, 6.0 Pts, 3.7 Reb, 1.7 Blk

29) Frank Thomas, DH, MLB

Year: 2008
Age at Retirement: 40
Team: Oakland A’s
Final Season: 55 Games, 0.263 Avg, 20 R, 49 H, 6 2B, 5 HR, 19 RBI, 44 K, 28 BB

28) Jerry Rice, WR, NFL

Year: 2004
Age at Retirement: 42
Team: Seattle Seahawks
Final Season: 17 Games, 30 Rec, 429 Yds, 3 TD

27) Randy Moss, WR, NFL

Year: 2010
Age at Retirement: 35
Team: San Francisco 49ers
Final Season: 16 Games, 28 Rec, 393 Yds, 5 TD

26) Steve Carlton, LHP, MLB

Year: 1986-1988 (Final 3 seasons)
Age at Retirement: 43
Team: Five Teams (Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins)
Final Season: 68 Games, 15-29, 5.72 ERA, 216 K, 177 BB, 1.651 WHIP