Arian Foster Says He Decided to Retire In the Middle of a Game

Published on October 12th, 2024 10:56 am EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


It was October 16th, 2016 when Arian Foster decided to retire.

The Miami Dolphins were playing at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Foster, who had signed with the Dolphins on a 1-year, $1.5 million deal ($400k guaranteed), was sitting on the bench.

Foster was being used sparingly in the game. In fact, he finished the game with 3 rushes for 3 yards, as well as 12 receiving yards.

The Dolphins won the game by a score of 30-15, snapping a two-game losing streak. Foster should have been happy but he wasn't.

Halfway through the game, Foster says that he looked at the scoreboard and realized that he didn't care if the Dolphins won or lost.

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Foster would play one more week.

His last game came against the Buffalo Bills, which the Dolphins won by a score of 28-25.

Foster had five yards on the ground and four receiving yards.

After the game, Foster announced that he was retiring.

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Prior to joining the Miami Dolphins, Foster had played for seven years with the Houston Texans, where he made a little less than $37 million.

Most of Foster's money came from the big deal that he signed with the Texans in 2012, which gave him over $20 million in guarantees and a total contract worth $43.5 million.

Arian Foster dealt with a number of different injuries over the course of his career, including a hernia in his back, a torn achilles tendon and a groin tear.

In 2016, after joining the Dolphins, Foster strained his groin, missing three straight games.

The constant injuries and constant rehabilitations were obviously getting to Foster - he just couldn't stay healthy.

During that fateful October 16th, 2016 game against the Steelers, Foster decided that he simply didn't care anymore. He likely thought about the money in his bank account, thought about the constant toll that his body was paying, and decided to hang it up.

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Unlike other players who have literally quit mid-game, Foster had the class to at least wait until after a game to announce his retirement. Foster wasn't being used much by the Dolphins, so his retirement didn't really hurt them.