Originally by The Round MoundList RulesAthletes who retired too late
Athletes who waited too long to retire for one reason or another made the choice to continue playing, sometimes for several years, when really they should have thrown in the towel. These football, basketball, baseball, and hockey players, along with fighters, were once at the top of their respective sports but couldn't quit while they were ahead. Instead they played into their 40s, 50s and sometimes 60s, and sometimes hurt their teams in the process of their denial.
Arguably, this list contains some of the best athletes ever to play in their respective sports. Professional basketball player Michael Jordan, hockey player Gordie Howe, and boxer Muhammad Ali are all regarded as some of the best ever but sadly they also come in as athletes who played well past their prime. Instead of stopping when they started to decline, they continued to compete and a small part of their legacy suffered because of it.
Perhaps the most erroneous case of not knowing when to stop is former National Football League quarterback Brett Favre. Number four played atop the league for 17 seasons, mainly with the Green Bay Packers, before retiring after the 2007 season. What followed was what was called the annual Brett Favre unretirement, a process that lasted THREE YEARS. In 2008 he played (poorly) for the New York Jets, then he retired again. A few months later he returned to the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings for the 2009 campaign. Lather, rinse, and repeat again in 2010. Spoiler: None of those final seasons led to a Super Bowl victory.
Athletes on this list prove that just because you are great at what you do does not mean you can do it forever. We feel bad for those athletes whose careers ended too soon due to circumstances out of their control but we also go sick of the athletes who refused to retire when they were old and washed up.1
1,261410Brett Favre
Age: 51Nationality: United States of America
Birthplace: Gulfport, Mississippi, United States of America
Teams: Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings
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799315Muhammad Ali
Age: 78Nationality: United States of America
Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
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627310Mike Tyson
Age: 54Nationality: United States of America
Birthplace: Bedford-Stuyvesant, New York City, New York, United States of America
4
668282Evander Holyfield
Age: 58Nationality: United States of America
Birthplace: Atmore, Alabama, United States of America
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362160Ric Flair
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459228Larry Holmes
Age: 71Nationality: United States of America
Birthplace: Cuthbert, Georgia, United States of America
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21599Gaylord Perry
Age: 82Nationality: United States of America
Birthplace: Williamston, North Carolina
Teams: New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, Kansas City Royals, Cleveland Indians
8
659405Shaquille O'Neal
Age: 48Nationality: United States of America
Birthplace: Newark, New Jersey, United States of America
Teams: Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics
9
329235Kobe Bryant
Dec. at 41 (1978-2020)Nationality: United States of America
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Teams: Los Angeles Lakers
10
256151LaDainian Tomlinson
Age: 41Nationality: United States of America
Birthplace: Rosebud, Texas, United States of America
Teams: New York Jets, San Diego Chargers, TCU Horned Frogs football
11
8645Rico Carty
Age: 81Birthplace: San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic
Teams: Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers
12
306291George Foreman
Age: 71Nationality: United States of America
Birthplace: Marshall, Texas, USA
13
299147Eric Lindros
Age: 47Nationality: Canada
Birthplace: London, Canada
Teams: Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars
14
206181Patrick Ewing
Age: 58Nationality: United States of America
Birthplace: Kingston, Jamaica
Teams: New York Knicks, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Orlando Magic, Seattle Supersonics
15
258129Chris Chelios
Age: 58Nationality: United States of America
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Teams: Detroit Red Wings
16
458290Chuck Liddell
Age: 51Nationality: United States of America
Birthplace: Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
17
18796Wade Boggs
Age: 62Nationality: United States of America
Birthplace: Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America
Teams: New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
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250153Joe Montana
Age: 64Nationality: United States of America
Birthplace: New Eagle, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Teams: San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs, Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
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446499Hulk Hogan
Age: 67Nationality: United States of America
Birthplace: Augusta, Georgia, United States of America
20
12758Ricky Ponting
Age: 46Nationality: Australia
Birthplace: Launceston, Australia
Teams: Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Australia national cricket team, Somerset County Cricket Club, Tasmania cricket team
21
14876Sachin Tendulkar
Age: 47Nationality: India
Birthplace: Mumbai, India
Teams: Mumbai Indians, India national cricket team, Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Mumbai cricket team, Cricket Club of India
22
12964Wally Hammond
Dec. at 62 (1903-1965)Nationality: England
Birthplace: Dover, United Kingdom
23
13071Jim Kaat
Age: 82Nationality: United States of America
Birthplace: Zeeland, Michigan, United States of America
Teams: New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox
24
393489Michael Jordan
Age: 57Nationality: United States of America
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States of America
Teams: Chicago Bulls, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards, Washington Wizards, North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball
25
9551Tony Esposito
Age: 77Nationality: Canada, United States of America
Birthplace: Sault Ste. Marie, Canada
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