National Football League

Panthers DE Jared Allen retires after 12 NFL seasons

Published Feb. 18, 2016 2:18 p.m. ET

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Panthers defensive end Jared Allen announced his retirement from football on Twitter in unique fashion - from atop a horse.

Allen, who often refers to himself as a cowboy after being raised on a ranch, thanked everyone in a short video before saying, ''I was going to ride off into the sunset, but seeing there is no sunset I'm just going to ride off.'' He then turned the horse and galloped away into the dark night with snow on the ground.

A four-time All-Pro, Allen played 12 seasons in the NFL and finished with 136 career sacks. He led the league in sacks in 2007 and 2011.

His retirement will save the Panthers $8.25 million under the 2016 salary cap.

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Online:

AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP-NFL

Allen was acquired by

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