Athletes rarely retire at the top of their game and very few of them actually choose to walk away (Jim Brown, Barry Sanders and Michael Jordan are a few exceptions). The vast majority have their careers unceremoniously terminated by injury, by age or when teams no longer require their services — or any combination of those reasons.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback (QB) Andrew Luck, at age 29, shocked the NFL-world with the announcement of his retirement last Saturday night just shy of three weeks before the start of the season. The former number one overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, ends his career with 2,000 completions from 3,290 attempts (60.79 per cent), 23,671 yards, 171 touchdowns and 83 interceptions.

Luck was considered as the new image of the QB position when he entered the league seven years ago, but injuries and porous offensive lines prevented a full display of his talent. He played just 38 (out of a minimum 64) games from 2015-2018 because of injuries, and said he was mentally worn down from pain, rehab and setbacks. He added that the decision to retire was made in his best interest and his own personal quality of life.

The franchise QB returned last season to lead a team that had won four games without him in 2017 to 11 wins and a spot in the second round of the play-offs. He completed a career-high 67.3 per cent of his passes last season, falling just one touchdown short of his career-best (40) and was named to the Pro Bowl plus being voted the league’s comeback player of the year.

Luck appeared to have put the tumultuous portion of his career behind him and, from all appearances, had resumed his standing as one of the league’s top QBs. However, the compounding issues including a lacerated kidney, damaged ribs, a torn labrum and now a mysterious lower leg injury appear to have taken a treacherous toll on his body.

The star QB is walking away from perhaps the best Colts team of his tenure and, unquestionably, the stoutest offensive line he’s ever had. In 2016, Luck was sacked 41 times but, last season, Indianapolis gave up a league-low 18 sacks. Financially, Luck is leaving a lot of money (both in terms of his current contract (+US$139M) and possible future earnings) on the table — Potentially US$450M in total. But the stack of injuries reportedly “took the joy out of football and if there’s no joy in doing something that hurts all the time, there’s no reason to go on.”

“It’s been four years of this pain, rehab cycle,” Luck said. “Part of my journey going forward will be figuring out how to feel better.”

Despite the laundry list of injuries suffered throughout his career, Luck’s retirement still came as a surprise, mostly because of his age. The average age of NFL starting QBs in 2018 was just over 30 years, and two very notable QBs will start the upcoming season at the plus side of 40 — Drew Brees (40) and Tom Brady (42), fresh off winning his sixth Super Bowl.

Unfortunately, Luck, who made four NFL Pro Bowl teams and led the Colts to the play-offs four times, was booed by the Indianapolis fans as he walked off the field last Saturday night. The news of his retirement obviously leaked before he could make the official announcement and the athlete had apparently violated the cardinal rule of sports culture (playing through the pain) despite a career of being a slave to it.

The toughness of Andrew Luck (or any other NFL player) should not be questioned, but the insensitivity entrenched in sports culture demands that fans nonetheless do. The cruel paradox of the sport is that participation almost guarantees eventual injury, yet the culture simultaneously celebrates only those participants who survive the proverbial ‘purge’. There is somewhat of a Roman Colosseum feel to American football and the gladiator that falls should be carted off immediately and replaced with the next in line. Plus, because NFL players are so well paid, many fans feel that the sacrifice of body and soul is par for the course in professional sports’ most violent workplace.

The Colts fans, having prepared themselves for a potentially blockbuster season, are now faced with the reality that QB Jacoby Brissett will have ball-in-hand for the season opener on September 8. The Colts traded for Brissett, who was a backup with the New England Patriots, in September 2017 when Luck was battling a major shoulder problem. Brissett crammed for two weeks to learn the Colts’ playbook and, although the Colts managed just 4-11 in Brissett’s 15 starts that season, he performed admirably, passing for 3,098 yards with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

For Brissett and the Colts, the curtain is about to be raised on a dramatic production that saw its leading man exit on the eve of opening night. The show must go on and Brissett has been handed the opportunity to make himself a star.

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DATE TIME HOME TEAM AWAY TEAM MAIN MATCH BETS05/09/19 19:20 CHI BEARS GB PACKERS 1.57 2.25 A3.5 1.93 1.77 1.83 46.5 1.87

MONEY LINE FINAL WITH HC UNDER/OVER TOTAL POINTS

1 2 HC 1 2 UNDER LINE OVER

08/09/19 12:00 CAR PANTHERS LA RAMS 2.10 1.65 H2.5 1.90 1.80 1.87 50.5 1.83

CLE BROWNS TEN TITANS 1.38 2.80 A5.5 1.83 1.87 1.85 45.5 1.85

JAC JAGUARS KC CHIEFS 2.40 1.50 H3.5 1.87 1.83 1.83 52.5 1.87

MIA DOLPHINS BAL RAVENS 2.70 1.40 H5.5 1.83 1.87 1.85 37.5 1.85

MIN VIKINGS ATL FALCONS 1.48 2.45 A4.5 1.87 1.83 1.83 47.5 1.87

NY JETS BUF BILLS 1.57 2.25 A3.5 1.95 1.75 1.85 39.5 1.85

PHI EAGLES WAS REDSKINS 1.25 3.50 A7.5 1.83 1.87 1.83 46.5 1.87

15:05 LA CHARGERS IND COLTS 1.50 2.40 A3.5 1.83 1.87 1.87 47.5 1.83

SEA SEAHAWKS CIN BENGALS 1.20 4.00 A9.5 1.83 1.87 1.80 43.5 1.90

15:25 ARI CARDINALS DET LIONS 2.02 1.70 H2.5 1.87 1.83 1.85 47.5 1.85

DAL COWBOYS NY GIANTS 1.28 3.30 A7.5 1.87 1.83 1.85 45.5 1.85

TB BUCCANEERS SF 49ERS 1.83 1.87 A0.5 1.83 1.87 1.87 49.5 1.83

19:20 NE PATRIOTS PIT STEELERS 1.38 2.80 A6.5 1.87 1.83 1.85 51.5 1.85

09/09/19 18:10 NO SAINTS HOU TEXANS 1.35 2.90 A6.5 1.83 1.87 1.83 53.5 1.87

21:20 OAK RAIDERS DEN BRONCOS 1.80 1.90 A1.5 1.87 1.83 1.80 43.5 1.90

*Betting odds, limits and handicaps are subject to change

SUPER BOWL CHAMPION

2019-2020

CODE TEAM ODDS101 NE PATRIOTS 7.50

102 LA RAMS 8.00

103 KC CHIEFS 8.50

104 NO SAINTS 8.50

105 LA CHARGERS 14.00

106 CHI BEARS 14.00

107 CLE BROWNS 14.00

108 PHI EAGLES 14.00

109 IND COLTS 45.00

110 PIT STEELERS 18.00

111 GB PACKERS 20.00

112 DAL COWBOYS 20.00

113 MIN VIKINGS 25.00

114 SEA SEAHAWKS 25.00

115 HOU TEXANS 18.00

116 BAL RAVENS 30.00

117 SF 49ERS 30.00

118 ATL FALCONS 30.00

119 JAX JAGUARS 25.00

120 CAR PANTHERS 50.00

121 TB BUCCANEERS 60.00

122 TEN TITANS 50.00

123 NY GIANTS 60.00

124 DEN BRONCOS 60.00

125 OAK RAIDERS 60.00

126 WAS REDSKINS 80.00

127 DET LIONS 80.00

128 ARI CARDINALS 80.00

129 NY JETS 80.00

130 BUF BILLS 100.00

131 CIN BENGALS 120.00

132 MIA DOLPHINS 120.00