Daunte Culpepper Retires

The shelf life for NFL players is incredibly short, and the best example that supports this statement is Daunte Culpepper.

Culpepper retired today, via e-mail to the NFL Network's Adam Schefter.

"The NFL has become more about power, money and control than passion competition and the love of the game," the 31-year-old quarterback said announcing his retirement. "Regardless of this shift, players' rights are still part of this league. Since I will not be given the opportunity to honor the memory of Gene Upshaw by wearing a patch on my uniform this year, I will instead spend some of my energy applying what he taught me about standing up for what is right and not sitting down for what is clearly wrong."

Culpepper writes this e-mail in the attempt to shine the light on how no teams wanted him because he was representing himself. That, of course, is only part of it.

Culpepper suffered a significant injury in his last year with the Vikings, in which he tore all the tendons in his knee.

It was brutal, and something that he could never come all the way back from (he tried, playing for Miami and the Raiders as well).

Culpepper was, at the time of Michael Vick's prime, the second most athletically gifted quarterback and the second best (next to Peyton Manning) in the season when Manning broke Dan Marino's touchdown record.

But as we typically see with pro football players, there's very little shelf-life for their careers. Even for the best players.