Peyton Manning chose not to announce his retirement after last night’s game. Marshawn Lynch chose to announce his retirement during it.
Vague at first, it quickly became clear that Lynch is indeed done, with tweets from Richard Sherman, Russell Wilson, and (most convincingly) owner Paul Allen confirming it.
The one thing the Seahawks haven’t and likely won’t confirm is whether Lynch will be permitted to keep the $5 million in signing bonus money he hasn’t earned yet. The safe guess is that it was understood a year ago that the Seahawks wouldn’t seek reimbursement if he retired after 2015. But the Seahawks would be wise to not publish that, because then other players who retire with unearned signing bonus money may expect the same courtesy.
It’s also unknown whether the Seahawks conditioned Marshawn’s retention of the money on his commitment to remaining retired. If he returns later in the year and plays for another team, the Seahawks would be entitled to be more than a little miffed.