After the 2014 season, the Steelers gave iconic safety Troy Polamalu a choice: Retire or be released.
Not much room for misinterpretation there.
It led to a predictable ugly breakup. Polamalu, then almost 34, believed he still could play. He thought long and hard about taking his release and playing a 13th NFL season with another team, perhaps following his former defensive coordinator, Dick LeBeau, to the Tennessee Titans. It took weeks before he finally and reluctantly decided to retire in early April 2015.
“If I’m in my fourth year, fifth year, even if I’m in my 10th year, I’m playing in Alaska,” Polamalu said.