NFL player quits after being cut, already has much more important full-time job
Most people, when they lose their job, try to find another one in the same field.
But for offensive lineman Orlando Franklin, who was cut by the Redskins last week, losing his job was just as good a reason as any to hang up the spikes and call it a career.
However, it wasn’t just sour grapes that led Franklin to give up his career in pro football at the age of 30.
Franklin took to Instagram to explain to fans the reason behind his decision:
Wrote Franklin, “Hey everyone it’s been a rough few days for me and more importantly a rough three weeks of me not being able to see my family every day once I got off work, over the last few days I’ve realized that FaceTiming my son is just not enough.
“I’ve always looked forward to being a father and right now I’m not at my best because I cannot be a good father here in DC while my wife and son have to be in Denver. And for this reason I have talked it over with God, my family, and my agent, and have decided to retire after seven years of playing in the NFL.”
Franklin started his career with the Broncos after being drafted in the second round in 2011 and maintains his home there.
He also played for the Chargers when they were still in San Diego.
Franklin earned an estimated $24.5 million in seven years in the NFL, so his family will be well provided for in his retirement.
The former Miami Hurricane knows firsthand how fleeting life can be and how valuable every day with loved ones truly is.
In 2011, during his rookie season, Franklin briefly left the Broncos due to a family emergency; his younger brother had died at the age of 20.
As a youngster, Franklin and his family lived in a homeless shelter for a time. He also got into trouble with the law and was kicked out of school. But after his mother gave him an ultimatum, Franklin turned his life around and stayed on the straight and narrow.
Franklin played in the Broncos’ Super Bowl XLVIII loss to the Seattle Seahawks in 2014, but he was off the team by the time Peyton Manning won his swan song two years later.
Hopefully the transition from football to full-time fatherhood will provide Franklin and his family with fulfillment as the retired player finds a life after the NFL.
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