Star NFL Running Back Retires at 26 to 'Fully Be Me'

Rashard Mendenhall didn’t want to make a big deal of retiring at the age of 26.

The former Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers running back explained in his essay “Why I Retired At 26” for the Huffington Post on Sunday that he didn’t want to hold a press conference or announce his retirement at all — he just “kind of wanted to disappear.”

In a sport like football, and at such an early age, Mendenhall’s choice has left the sports world surprised and confused. For Mendenhall, however, the decision couldn't be clearer. In the post, he writes that it simply came down to feeling fulfilled by his time in the NFL: Read more...