ARIZONA CARDINALS

Kurt Warner says he didn’t retire due to cheap Cardinals

Jul 11, 2011, 6:49 PM | Updated: 8:03 pm

Kurt Warner retired from the NFL less than two weeks after he and the Cardinals were eliminated by the New Orleans Saints in the 2010 NFL Playoffs.

It was largely believed he hung up his cleats because, after 12 NFL seasons, the 38-year-old wanted to spend more time with his family.

At least, those were the reasons he gave. That was all well and good (except for, you know, actually having to replace him on the field), until this tweet was fired off by a former Cardinals scout.

K Warner’s people told me he wanted to continue playing but decided to retire after being lowballed. Look at team now. I’m pissed if a fanless than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet Reply

Lowballed? Warner had signed a two-year contract the previous season, ultimately leaving $11.5 million on the table when he called it quits. How much more did he expect to make?

Maybe nothing more.

2set record straight: I did NOT retire due 2 anything $$$ related! I retired bec I sacrificed enuf 4 the game & didn’t want 2 do it anymore!less than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet Reply

So, the battle of tweets has commenced. Who is going to win, the possibly bitter former scout or the QB who led the Cards to unprecedented success?

Yeah, that’s not even a fair fight.

The point is it’s hard to believe Warner retired due to financial reasons simply because he was not being underpaid by any stretch of the imagination. Would he have stayed if the Cardinals gave him a contract similar to the one the Vikings gave Brett Favre? Perhaps.

But it’s hard to see Warner, who is a class guy both on and off the field, leaving the game he loved over a few million dollars. Rather, it’s likely that he walked away because he still could, like he tweeted.

Arizona Cardinals

...

Arizona Sports Video

Video: Was the Arizona Cardinals’ decision to not pick up Zaven Collins’ option a forgone conclusion?

After Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort told Burns & Gambo that the team was not picking up Zaven Collins' option, Wolf & Luke take a closer look at what it means moving forward.

17 hours ago

Tip Reiman catches a pass...

Arizona Sports

Who’s the most intriguing non-1st-round member of Cardinals’ draft class?

Cardinals Corner co-hosts Tyler Drake and Lauren Koval give their most intriguing later-round pick from the Cardinals' 2024 draft class.

19 hours ago

Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz talks about new Cardinals defensive player Darius Robinson....

Bailey Leasure

Mizzou’s Eli Drinkwitz: Darius Robinson will invest in Cardinals like they invested in him

Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz is excited for Cardinals' Darius Robinson following the team drafting him with the 27th pick in the draft.

21 hours ago

...

Arizona Sports Video

Video: Evaluating the Arizona Cardinals’ 2024 NFL Draft class and their most intriguing picks

On the most recent version of Cardinals Corner, Lauren Koval and Tyler Drake discuss how the team drafted in 2024.

1 day ago

...

Arizona Sports Video

Video: Arizona Cardinals’ Monti Ossenfort says the team will not pick up 5th-year option on Zaven Collins

Video: Felisa Cárdenas and Jeremy Schnell/Arizona Sports Subscribe to the Arizona Sports daily newsletter: https://bit.ly/3QWcj1x Read articles from Arizona Sports: https://arizonasports.com/ Download the Arizona Sports app: https://arizonasports.com/the-arizona-sports-98-7-fm-app/ Sign up for texts from Arizona Sports: https://arizonasports.com/text-alerts/ Listen live to Arizona Sports: https://arizonasports.com/listen-live/ Follow the team: https://bit.ly/3R0PIAJ ARIZONA SPORTS SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArizonaSports/ X: https://x.com/azsports TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@arizonasports987 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arizsports/ ARIZONA SPORTS PODCASTS: https://arizonasports.com/category/podcasts/

2 days ago

Zaven Collins at practice...

Tyler Drake

Arizona Cardinals not picking up Zaven Collins’ 5th-year option

The Arizona Cardinals are not picking up linebacker Zaven Collins' fifth-year option, general manager Monti Ossenfort told Burns & Gambo.

2 days ago

Kurt Warner says he didn’t retire due to cheap Cardinals