Former NFL quarterback Derek Carr announced his retirement this offseason despite being in the mix for the New Orleans Saints' starting job. It was a decision that led Carr away from a $30 million salary. On Thursday, he finally opened up about why he chose to retire from the league.
During a guest appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show,” the 34-year-old former quarterback admitted that it wasn't an easy decision. However, it appears that his wife, Heather Neel, played a key part in helping Derek Carr choose to retire. Carr claimed that she would have to help him out of bed on Monday mornings because he couldn't walk after games.
“It wasn't easy, I promise,” said Derek Carr. “It's easy to make a comment and just say, ‘Yeah, it is what it is.' But it wasn't. It was hard. It was really hard. When I talked to my wife, you know, she was ready for me to be done whenever I was ready, you know, she's amazing. She saw, honestly, things that no one else saw. You know, waking up on Monday mornings, and I can't walk. You know, waking up on Monday mornings, and I have to call her to come in the room to help me get out of bed, you know. So she was done. She was like, ‘I'm good.' You know, 11 years is enough.”
In the interview, Derek Carr also claims that his shoulder injury made it easier to walk away from a $30 million salary, which is something he admitted back in June. Although it is a ton of money, the four-time Pro Bowler just knew that he wasn't going to be ready to go for the Saints in the 2025-26 season.
“To say no to the money part of it, I had to die to myself on that one,” admitted Carr. “You know, I had to be like, ‘What is the right thing to do?' because on the inside, you’re like, ‘It's easy. ‘I'll just make that money and go.' But it just wasn't right because I wasn't ready.”
Derek Carr played 11 seasons in the NFL. Nine of those were with the Las Vegas Raiders franchise, and his final two years were with the Saints. Carr ended his career with 41,245 passing yards, 257 touchdowns, and a career 65.1% completion percentage.
