Pittsburgh Steelers Troy Polamalu Retires after 12 years in the League

Pittsburgh Steelers eight-time Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu will end his NFL career after 12 seasons.

The Uniontown Herald-Standard reported that Polamalu, who turns 34 later this month, told Steelers chairman Dan Rooney that he would rather retire than play a 13th season.

He said, "Maybe it was a sign for me to retire when I chase my kids around and couldn't catch them. It was either a sign for me to retire or a sign for them to begin training."

Polamalu revealed that the Steelers had asked him to retire in February. At the time, Polamalu was not ready to make a decision. He revealed to the newspaper that he finally decided to leave the game while at church last weekend. The safety stated that he did not see himself playing elsewhere other than in Pittsburgh. Polamalu also asked his family and friends for insight, who reportedly told him that he had nothing left to prove.

"It's all about family," said Polamalu. "I live here in Pittsburgh now, and since the end of the season I've had a chance to enjoy my family on a level I never had before. It was awesome."

He explained further, "I did not seriously consider playing elsewhere. It was just whether or not I wanted to play. I had talked to a lot of people about what I should do with my situation, and what they kept saying back to me, and which was not a sufficient reason, was 'Troy, you played 12 years in the NFL, you won Super Bowls, won individual awards. There's nothing left to prove. You have a legacy.' And I just kept saying, 'First of all, I don't care about a legacy. Second of all, I play the game because I enjoy it.' That's the reason to keep playing.

Like I said, what it came down to was definitely family. If I'm in my fourth year, fifth year, even if I'm in my 10th year, I'm playing in Alaska. But when I started this process and started to debate whether I should come back or should I play, that was kind of the sign for me to say 'Whoa, if you're just even debating it maybe you shouldn't play anymore,' because what I do know about this game is it takes a lot -a lot - of commitment just to be an average player."

Polamalu has been an iconic figure for Steelers. His performance peaked in 2010 when he earned the NFL Defensive Player of the year. After that, however, Polamalu has been riddled with injuries. In 2012, he suffered from a calf injury and had to miss nine games. In 2014, he sustained a knee injury that prevented him from playing in four games.

Polamalu had two years left on his contract. His 12 seasons in the league include 158 regular-season appearances, 15 playoff games and three Super Bowls. He has recorded 710 tackles, 35 interceptions, 13 forced fumbles, four touchdowns and two championships.