Jim Brown Decided That He Had Had Enough of NFL After Ninth Season in League

Published on August 11th, 2024 2:04 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


The legendary Jim Brown is the ultimate example of somebody choosing to go out on top.

Following the conclusion of the 1965 regular season (Brown's ninth in the league), the legendary running back decided to call it quits.

This was notable for a few reasons:

1. Brown was just 29 years old

2. Brown had just won the MVP award

Brown won the MVP award in 1965 - the third MVP award (fourth if we include his UPI MVP award in 1963) of his career. In the previous two seasons, Brown had finished as the MVP runner-up.

In short - Brown was still dominant.

In the 1965 regular season, Brown rushed for 1,544 yards in 14 games, and found the endzone 21 times. Brown averaged an eye-popping 5.3 yards per carry - he was simply unstoppable.

-

Jim Brown was adamant about his desire to establish a career outside of football.

After acting in a movie calling "Rio Conchos", Brown signed a contract to appear in "The Dirty Dozen".

This movie was to be shot during the offseason before the start of the 1966 football year.

Filming for the movie was delayed (it was being filmed in England), and the Browns were getting agitated that Brown was missing training camp to film the movie.

Despite Brown not being signed to a contract, the Browns told Brown that he would be fined $1,000 for every week that he wasn't in training camp.

Brown, who prided himself on his durability, didn't take kindly to this slight.

Brown sent a letter to a columnist at the Cleveland Plain Dealer in July of 1966, informing them that he was retiring from the NFL.

Brown never played another down in the NFL.

-

Brown would end up having a prolific career in Hollywood, making appearances in nearly 60 different movies and TV shows.

The Browns and Jim Brown would eventually patch things up, but it would be far too late for Brown to revive his NFL career.

Brown retiring early is one of the great "what ifs" in NFL history. The Browns were an extremely good team in the mid 1960s, and many wonder how many more titles they could have won if Jim Brown had elected to stay in the fold instead of choosing retirement.