The Athletic's New Podcast Investigates Andrew Luck's Rise & Retirement

 I promise you, no corny jokes about retired Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck being unlucky. Or out of luck. Or SOL. 

Andrew Luck was a star quarterback for his seven years in the NFL. Along with the lucrative contracts and acclaim came constant injuries and chronic pain. At 29 years old, Luck retired.

 While Luck cited injuries as a major reason for his retirement, there was always speculation that something else was a factor in hanging up his cleats.

The Athletic, a New York Times company, has debuted "Luck," a new special podcast series about Andrew Luck, one of the great what-ifs in NFL history. 

The six-part series explores a fundamental question: How did one of the greatest quarterback prospects of all-time end up walking away from the game before he turned 30 years old?

With the recent death of former Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas at age 33 and confirmation of a CTE diagnosis, it's apparent that CTE can strike NFL players at an early age. Could Andrew Luck have considered possible CTE as a reason to retire?

 

In Episode one, host Zak Keefer — a longtime Colts beat writer who covered Luck’s pro career — traces Luck’s path from his unique upbringing in Europe to Heisman contender at Stanford. Voices in the episode include Stanford coach David Shaw, former Stanford QB Tavita Pritchard, Heisman winner Robert Griffin III, Tony Dungy and more.

In an accompanying essay, Keefer writes, "We wanted to tell the Andrew Luck story that has never been told, and we wanted to answer this question: How does the greatest quarterback prospect since John Elway end up walking away from the game before he’s 30 years old?"

All six episodes are available to listen to now. 

 

The show is available wherever you get your podcasts, and on The Athletic Football Show podcast feed. 

 

You do not have to be a football fan to listen to and enjoy this podcast. Consider how many people work in dangerous jobs -- from mining to construction -- and have to weigh the risks versus the rewards. For most of us in the median income range, we wonder how Andrew Luck could pass up all that money. Luck had a dangerous job, and got paid a lot of money to do it. Loggers, derrick operators, roofers, miners, and now teachers do some of the most dangerous jobs in the country and no one is signing them to a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract.

 

Luck was lucky (I know, I broke my promise) and got out. Find out why?