Darren Waller, who most recently played for the New York Giants, announced his retirement on Sunday. Waller's decision surprised a number of fans since he is only 31 years old. So what led to the Pro Bowler's retirement decision?

Waller shared a video on YouTube where he revealed a frightening health situation that occurred in November of last year. The former tight end explains that he began to feel a “fever” coming on and had already dealt with COVID twice. He thought he was set to battle the illness once again, but then realized his symptoms were different.

“I couldn't breathe,” Waller said. “Found myself, my head starting to nod and like losing consciousness, and I'm here (at his home) by myself… I ended up calling 911 and I think I'm talking clearly on the phone but they can't make out much of what I'm saying.”

He continued by explaining that they ended up getting his address.

“The paramedic put an oxygen mask on my face. Police officer was there. I was still very much out of it, but I could kind of have a conversation with them…. It was a very scary situation. I ended up going to the hospital, I was in there for three and a half days.”

How the experience impacted Darren Waller's retirement decision

Darren Waller then shared that the experience led him to think deeply about his NFL future.

“I come out of that experience and I'm sitting in the hospital and I go back into my daily life. And I'm like, pretty clear I almost just lost my life. I don't know if I really feel like that if I would have died that I would have felt great about how my life was going if I died at the time. I'm doing something that I found a lot of joy in and I've had amazing moments with but the passion has slowly been fading.”

Waller enjoyed a tremendous NFL career. However, he ultimately made the decision to walk away from the game of football.

“I've made the decision that I'll be retiring from the NFL. There's plenty of reasons that go into that.”

He has been asked why he would leave “money like that on the table.” Since Waller is set to retire, he is going to lose some bonus money. For Waller, it is not about the money.

“I feel like I spent most of my life doing what I should be doing. Measuring that in the eyes that people would expect from me. I've been a people-pleaser my whole life. Somebody that has struggled with worth, confidence, feeling valuable. You find value in people accepting you because the way you play a game… At the same time, it's like I feel like I always end up at the stop of my life looking way better than it feels.”

Moving forward

Waller wants to feel more content with his life moving forward. He mentioned that he loves the game of football but added that it “became a people-pleasing tool.”

In the end, Darren Waller is thankful that he got to play a sport that he loves for such a long time.

“I'm eternally grateful for the game of football. I wouldn't be able to have this conversation… if it wasn't for an opportunity to save my life and go to rehab which the NFL offered me. They also gave me an opportunity to reestablish myself, to come back into the world and do something productive. Provide an example, be a leader, be a difference-maker.”