Peter King announces retirement after 44 years
If you are a fan of the NFL in any way, you have heard of Peter King. Covering the sport for over 40 years, the name of sportswriting legend Peter King has become forever etched into the history of the NFL. But after 44 years of Hall of Fame work, King announced during his weekly collum with NBC’s “Pro Football Talk” that he officially would be retiring.
“I’m retiring*. I use an asterisk because I truly don’t know what the future holds for me. I probably will work at something, but as I write this I have no idea what it will be. Maybe it will be something in the media world, but just not Football Morning in America.”
Via Peter King
King explains that multiple different factors played into his retirement. But cited that wanting to be closer to family and his overall dying passion for covering the sport were some of the bigger ones.
“Coaching searches, free-agency, the lead-up to the draft … It’s important, obviously. And last year I started noticing how much of it I simply didn’t care about. I had to force myself to be interested in things other than training camps and the games, and that’s no way to do this job.”
Via Peter King
King continued talking about how much of an impact this job has had on his family life.
“The sacrifices my wife, Ann, and my kids, Laura and Mary Beth, and their families have made for me to do this job at the highest level have been significant. To do this job well, you’ve got to have some selfishness in you, and you’ve got to miss time at home—lots of it. I don’t feel great about lots of those times, but I don’t regret them either.”
Via Peter King
In typical fashion, King had a lot to say on the matter and I definitely think it is worth checking out to hear from his perspective. He even cited that as one of the factors playing into his retirement. That being when he was told to cut his column from 10,500 to 6,000 words.
King talked about how difficult it was for him to cut his writing that much, turning it into something he didn’t even recognize anymore. He overall just wasn’t proud of the product and felt it wasn’t giving him the full creative freedom he needed.
Hell, if I was a legend in my field with 44 years of experience, I’d be pissed if someone told me I had to cut my column in half. At that point, you’d think you’d have the freedom to do whatever you want, especially when you are Peter King.
Obviously, this alone didn’t lead to King’s retirement. As he so simply put it, “It’s Time.” The man has dedicated his entire adult life to football and all its fans around the world. Time for him to ride of into the sunset. If anyone in the world of Sports Media deserves it, it’s Peter King. Congratulations on an amazing career.
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