Former Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson is shutting down any possibility of a return to the NFL in an article he wrote for The Players' Tribune.
Titled, "In Retirement," Johnson talks about what he has done after his retirement and also the thoughts that have gone through his mind.
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He writes that he still gets questions about coming back every time he's in an airport.
"People see me in their airport and automatically assume I'm in town to meet with their team - to come out of retirement," he wrote. "But I'm not. I'm just...there."
That's when Johnson goes on to talk about all of the things he's picked up during his retirement. That includes skiing, surfing, fishing, playing golf and more.
He then talks about his time on Dancing With the Stars and how hard that was for him, as well as putting off his college degree more to help mentor kids and put on receiver camps.
Johnson says the pain of football is what led him to retire after nine seasons. He says he contemplated retirement for over a year.
"There were days when I was elated because I was breaking records and making my family, friends and fans proud," he wrote. "But the more I played...even that pride wouldn't outweigh the pain I felt while shuffling my feet across the floor because I couldn't bend my ankles. I don't want to worry about potentially being in too much pain to play with my son, you know?
"And that's not all. My fingers are all kinds of jacked up," he added.
Earlier this year, Johnson also said the Lions' inability to win games played in factor in his decision to retire.
"I was stuck in my contract with Detroit, and they told me, they would not release my contract, so I would have to come back to them," he said at the time. "I didn’t see the chance for them to win a Super Bowl at the time, and for the work I was putting in, it wasn’t worth my time to keep on beating my head against the wall … and not going anywhere."
Despite not wanting to come back and not even watching much football, he wrote that he still misses teammates.
"I've kept in touch with my QB, Matthew Stafford. I have a great friendship with him and many of my former teammates," he wrote. "I love to see those guys out there in leadership positions, getting work done. And when they have free time, we connect. So I don't even have to miss them too much."
At the end of the article, Johnson said he plans on going back to school to finish his degree, and nif you see him in the airport somewhere, he wants to save you some time.
"No, I'm not coming back," he wrote. "I appreciate all the love. I really do. But football was my passion. It's not my purpose."
