National Football League

Broncos guard John Moffitt decides to retire, leaves $1 million on the table

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 5:26 p.m. ET

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Broncos offensive guard John Moffitt decided to hang it up on Tuesday, leaving nearly $1 million on the table.

Moffitt, who was dealt in a preseason trade from the Seahawks, saw little to no playing time in Denver. He claims the latter didn’t affect his decision and that he wants to leave the game on his own terms.

Moffitt announced his retirement on Twitter and called the Broncos from his house in Seattle to inform him that he didn’t want to risk his health playing the game any longer.

From the outside, it’s hard to comprehend the complexities behind being an NFL player. While it’s easy to look at the glamorous side of receiving five- to six-figure game checks and have the glory of fans cheering for you, for some people it’s not worth it.

"I just really thought about it and decided I'm not happy. I'm not happy at all," Moffitt, 27, told The Associated Press in a phone interview from Seattle. "And I think it's really madness to risk your body, risk your well-being and risk your happiness for money."

"Everybody, they just don't get it and they think it's crazy. But I think what I was doing is crazy."

A third-round pick from Wisconsin in 2011, Moffitt made nearly $1.5 million in his career, according to Spotrac.com. If people think that money is the what conquers all for NFL players, Moffitt put that idea to rest.

"I've saved enough. It's not like I'm sitting here and I'm a millionaire," he said. "That's what I kind of realized. I'm sitting here and I got to this point and I was like, what is the number that you need? How much do you really need? What do you want in life? And I decided that I don't really need to be a millionaire.

"I just want to be happy. And I find that people that have the least in life are sometimes the happiest. And I don't have the least in life. I have enough in life. And I won't sacrifice my health for that."

Questions? Comments? Send them to lacesoutmail@gmail.com and we might respond in our weekly mailbag!

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