After eight years in the NFL, Seattle Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor has announced his retirement from football.
The 30-year-old defensive star suffered a severe neck injury last season that forced the decision. "To walk away from the game by choice is one thing, to walk away from the game because of the risk of paralysis is another," he wrote on Twitter Sunday evening. "My final test showed no healing. I put all my blood, sweat, and tears into this game."
In May, Chancellor told 13News Now, "If my body says don't play, I'm not playing. I'll listen." On Sunday, he added, "I've played through all types of bruises and injuries at a high level. But this one, I just can't ignore." Some fans are pointing out that he never explicitly used the word "retirement" in his announcement, but the news comes after coach Pete Carroll admitted in January that Chancellor would "have a hard time playing football again."
The four-time Pro Bowler played his entire eight-year career in Seattle after being drafted by the Seahawks in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He helped bring a championship to the team in 2013 when the Seahawks beat the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.
Chancellor was a key member of the Seahawks Legion of Boom defensive group that terrorized the league from 2011 to 2017. After Chancellor's apparent retirement and Earl Thomas' current contract holdout, the Seahawks are now without all original members of the Legion of Boom.
