Former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald enters the Pro Football Hall of Fame this Saturday despite refusing to officially retire from football. Fitzgerald spent the entirety of his 17-year career with Arizona before bowing out from football in 2020 after racking up 17,492 receiving yards and 121 touchdowns in 263 appearances.
More than six years after his final appearance, the 11-time Pro Bowler told Arizona's official team website on Thursday, "I have not committed to retirement." Players cannot be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame if they are still active, but Fitzgerald has no plans to return despite his refusal to recognize retirement.
Ahead of his big honor on Saturday, the Cardinals legend explained that his grandfather and a longtime friend had strong thoughts on the concept of retirement that have stuck with him over the years. "They'd talk about retirement killing more people in our country than anything," he recalled. "It always stuck with me. I just don't believe in retirement. I just think you transition into different phases, especially as an athlete. I was done at 38. Retire? There is no retirement in sight."
"I protest the word more than the actual thing. So I just won't acknowledge that," Fitzgerald added.
Career statistics and achievements
Fitzgerald ranks second in the all-time NFL receiving yards and receptions charts, and sixth in career receiving touchdowns. He was named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team and the 100th Anniversary All-Time Team, before being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2026.
Business ventures and charity work
Away from football, the 42-year-old is a venture investor, a minority owner of NBA franchise the Phoenix Suns, and a philanthropist. He established the Larry Fitzgerald First Down Fund to help kids and families in crisis back in 2014 and frequently visited soldiers overseas while raising funds for injured and ill members of the US military.
He also won a humanitarian award for establishing the Carol Fitzgerald Memorial Fund in honor of his mother, who died of breast cancer in 2003.
Capitol Hill appearance
Earlier this year, NFL fans were left baffled when they spotted Fitzgerald sitting behind Donald Trump's pick for the Federal Reserve at his confirmation hearing. Kevin Warsh, who was Trump's pick to be the new chair of the Federal Reserve, was on Capitol Hill for Senate hearings over his nomination from the president.
As Warsh fielded questions, Fitzgerald was bizarrely seen directly behind him in Washington D.C. It remains unclear why the football icon was in attendance for the hearing on Capitol Hill.
