I am certain there are people waking up this Sunday morning in Fishers wondering why there is so much commotion about the retirement of one football player.  There are football fans still in shock about Andrew Luck’s decision to retire just before the start of the 2019 NFL season.

There are football reasons for concern, and there are non-football reasons for concern.  Allow me to start with the non-football part.

Whether we like it or not, taxpayers have a major investment in the Colts and Lucas Oil Stadium.  Those of us living in the Indianapolis area must be cognizant of one important fact…we are one of the smallest markets in the NFL.  Of the 30 metropolitan areas with an NFL team, Indianapolis is 25th.

When the lease on the old RCA (formerly Hoosier) Dome no longer made sense for the city economically, the city and the Colts were at a crossroads.  Would the Colts leave for another market (remember, Los Angeles had no NFL team at that time) or would state and city officials find a way to finance a new NFL stadium in Indy?

Because our market is small by NFL standards, our local elected officials decided to pony up public money to keep the Colts here.  That was the only way to keep the team.  You can make arguments either way as to whether that was the correct decision, but that is the way things stand so that is the reality we face.

That is why Andrew Luck’s retirement is something non-football fans should understand.  We all have an investment in the Colts.  When the Colts do well, we all do well.  When the Colts do not win, we all suffer some as a result.

It is a fact that very few teams make the playoffs and progress into the post-season without a top-shelf quarterback.  There are only a small number of quarterbacks in the NFL capable of leading a team to a Super Bowl.  Andrew Luck was in that small number.

One NFL General Manager reportedly offered the Colts their entire draft if they could obtain the rights to the number one pick that year, which everyone knew would be Luck.  The Colts refused, understanding the need for a high-caliber quarterback.

It will take the Colts some years to recover from this.  The chances of the Colts being a contender for a Super Bowl title are down this year, and likely for some years to come.

This damages the value of that public investment area taxpayers have made, and are still making, to keep the Colts around.  We should all understand this reality.

But there is a football consequence that must be considered. As recently as 1977, the NFL regular season consisted of 14 games.  That number then went to 16, where it is today.  But that does not include playoff and preseason games, or full contact practice sessions.

With players bigger and faster than ever, the physical toll this game takes on the bodies of the players is something most of us will never understand.  Read accounts from former players.  Talk to a medical professional that treats current or retired NFL players.  They all tell the same story.  The NFL beats your body up in a savage manner.

Personally, I do not blame Andrew Luck for retiring.  He has played through difficult and painful injuries in the past.  It appears he would be forced to play through a lot of pain in order to play for the Colts this season.

I expect more players to end their NFL careers earlier than ever as we move forward.  The physical toll is just too much for any human to endure.

Much has been written about the Colts crowd booing Luck as he left the field of the preseason game Saturday night.  I suspect that came because of the shock felt by devoted football fans.  From everything I know, Luck was involved in the Indianapolis community in a very positive way, above and beyond what is expected of a first-tier athletic star in our society.

I wish Andrew Luck all the best in whatever the future has in store for him.

But remember this when the NFL and the players’ union enter the next contract negotiations.  One big goal of the owners is to expand the number of games in the regular season and possibly the playoffs.  The players will balk at putting their bodies at risk even more in the coming years.

Just a few things to think about as Andrew Luck moves into NFL retirement