Colts punter Pat McAfee surely didn’t take his decision to retire early from football lightly.
With McAfee calling it quits, he’s walking away from a $2.75 million salary he would have received in 2017. Under the terms of his current contract, he’ll also owe the team $400,000 in previously-paid bonus money.
It’s unknown whether the Colts will actually collect the money; it’s not mandatory but plenty of teams regard a signing bonus as advance compensation for future services, and they want back any portion of the bonus that hasn’t been earned.
Via Bob Kravitz of WHTR, McAfee recently said he seriously considered retiring a year ago but decided to return. With comedic chops and a large following on social media, it makes sense for McAfee to strike while the media iron is hot -- especially since he can make a lot more than $2.75 million per year if things work out in his second career.