Each year, a fresh new set of wide-eyed, eager, excited, and talented young men join the various teams on the National Football League. The league picks the best players, thus guaranteeing a high level of play and sufficient entertainment for the public. At the same time, it's bidding goodbye to a batch of men who have played amazingly with the group for usually more than a decade, who tend to be battered and tired, but hopefully, with loaded bank accounts and outstanding records. Unfortunately, when these stars fade from view, the public tends to forget them. So let's walk through football's hallowed halls to remember some of the greats and know when they've retired.

Drew Bledsoe - 2007

New England Patriots' Drew Bledsoe got the nod from public supporters when they elected him to be one of the team's Hall of Famers. It came after Bledsoe retired from the league in 2007, with a successful career that included going to the Super Bowl twice with the Patriots. While not playing football, Drew tends to his winery in Washington. It has done well as the wines rank among the best one-hundred wines named by Wine Spectator. Aside from the winery, Bledsoe is heavy on charity, with diverse projects. The New England Patriots appointed him honorary captain of the AFC Championship Game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, an event hosted by the Patriots in 2018.

Lynn Swann - 1982

Lynn Swann wears several hats, including a broadcaster's, but he's most popular for his football history with the Pittsburgh Steelers and connection to the University of Southern California. In '82, after nine years of pro football and earning a quartet of rings from Super Bowl games, Swann bowed out of the league. Afterward, he did some interesting things like in '02, he became a member of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition for three years. In 2006, he ran for the office of Governor of Pennsylvania but lost to Ed Rendell. But ten years later, he successfully took up office as University of Southern California's Director for Athletics.

Tim Brown - 2005

In 2019, Tim Brown, wide receiver and NFL Hall-of-Famer, has a fortune of $20M. Indeed, he has one well for himself.  He's also gained a reputation since retiring, of pushing the envelope with provocative public comments.  He blamed Oakland Raiders chief coach, Bill Callahan for that team's performance in Super Bowl XXXVII in 2013, saying that by altering the game plan only a couple of days before the event, he sabotaged the team. Also, when in 2017, Marshawn Lynch, running back for the Raiders, knelt while the national anthem was being played, he criticized him for it. Brown is a college football game analyst for ESPN.

Jerry Rice - 2006

It could be argued that Jerry Rice was the most remarkable player in the NFL ever. In 2010, he was inducted into its Pro Football Hall of Fame, the first year he became eligible. After retirement, he was a Dancing with the Stars contestant and appeared on television several times as himself. He was captain of the alumni for the league's Pro Bowl in 2016 and 2014. Additionally, he has been a presence at the practice site of his former team in San Francisco, the 49ers, chatting with the present team members, and dishing out some tips. Meanwhile, in March 2018, Rice and Latisha Pelayo finally got engaged after dating for ten years.

Barry Sanders - 1998

Barry Sanders' announcing in '98 that he was retiring was a huge surprise since he was still in the prime of his career.  Just before the start of the 2017 football season, he became the brand ambassador for the Detroit Lions. This is the team he was on for all his years with the NFL. Before this, it was when he was selected as the athlete to appear on the cover of the video game for EA Sports Madden NFL 25. That video game cover selection made him the first American footballer to be selected for this spot by Madden NFL Football, not just one time. Sanders' net worth was  $28M in 2018.

Tony Romo - 2016

Tony Romo made his exit from the NFL in 2016 after he hurt his back during pre-season. Though we've stopped seeing him on the football field after that, we've still been seeing plenty of him as a little after leaving the game, he started a job at CBS as its foremost play analyst. His predictions and analyses were very on point for the 2017 season, and got him great reviews almost right away, as a newly-retired player. He also entered into an agreement with Skechers to become the brand's new face.  Additionally, just in pre-season 2017, Tony and his spouse had Jones McCoy Romo, baby number three.

Dan Marino - 2000

When he retired from professional American football in 2002, Dan Marino joined The NFL Today on CBS as an analyst and remained with that pregame show, aired on Sundays, for eleven years. In addition, he's known to have enrolled in the Nutrisystem program and lost twenty-two pounds. He was a part of their advertising campaign, and also for other companies like  Papa John's. Also, in 2017, he bought an upscale condo offering every luxury in the newly built Auberge Beach Residences & Spa located in Fort Lauderdale, South Florida. Sources indicate that in 2019, Marino's fortune stands at $40M.

Terry Bradshaw - 1983

Retired NFL QB, Terry Bradshaw, has been just as famous even after leaving the game. For fourteen years, he was on the Pittsburgh team, winning Super Bowl titles four times. But his portfolio shows more than just football. Beginning in 1994, Bradshaw started working as a sports analyst on television, co-hosting Fox's NFL Sunday. He got into acting as well, appearing in various movies and TV series, among them, the film Failure to Launch, in which was one of the stars. In 2016, he had a major part in the 2018 reality show Better Late Than Never on NBC, where he and other famous Americans journeyed throughout the globe.

Michael Strahan - 2007

Michael Strahan, some years ago, has said goodbye to professional football but he's among the most occupied people on the globe. So obviously, he's not at par with the fitness requirements for getting back into football even if he wanted to try. As a media personality, he's seen on Good Morning America on ABC and Fox NFL Sunday in that network. Before GMA, he was on Live! full-time, eventually becoming a regular contributor for GMA. But in 2016, the announcement came that he would leave Live! and be working full-time with Good Morning America.

Emmitt Smith - 2004

With a little under 18.4K yards, Emmitt Smith was crowned the leading rusher of all time by the NFL. His professional career began in '90, and he played mostly with the Dallas Cowboys, except for the last two years where he was with the Arizona Cardinals. However, after he'd completed his last year, he inked an agreement with his first team, the Dallas Cowboys, for one day to be able to bow out of the league as a member of that team. He donned dancer's shoes to appear and win on Dancing with the Stars, partnering with professional Cheryl Burke in 2006. Ten years later, he became co-owner of The Gents Place.

Terrell Owens - 2012

In 2017, right before the new American football season, Terrell Owens struck again. Sports news detailed his quibbling over the fact that his name wasn't still included on the list of active NFL players. He claimed that he could still play professionally at 43. Of course, Terrell stopped being a pro player in 2012 but has delayed in submitting his papers to formalize the retirement. It's been so long since he last played but he was among the finalists for the Hall of Fame for professional American footballers for a couple of years, and it ended there. In 2018, he was finally voted in.

Franco Harris - 1984

Franco's teams in the NFL were the Seattle Seahawks and the Pittsburgh Steelers. For all the initial four wins at the Super Bowl that the Steelers had experienced, Franco was one of the main influencers. Moreover, he obviously took his vitamins and supplements, because he had impressive totals for his career - rushing touchdowns four times and carrying for 354 yards one-hundred-and-one times. In the history of Super Bowl, he had the second most number of rushing touchdowns. He's also a significant part of a very well-known pro football play called the 'Immaculate Reception.' In 2018, Franco was portrayed in an episode of the This Is Us series.

Brett Favre - 2011

Brett Favre is not interested in being on the list of active NFL players any longer. However, he has actually talked about getting a job in the front office of the NFL, and Brett is looking really nice of late, reminiscent of his league playing days. He lost weight, getting back to the 219 pounds that he was when he was playing in the NFL after he reshaped his diet to be a lot healthier. It now doesn't include gluten, dairy, eggs, and soy. Favre and Deanna, his spouse, are now involved with Ironman and traditional triathlons, as well as traveling. His 2019 net worth is estimated at $110M.

Chad Johnson - 2011

While Chad Johnson played American league football, he had his toes dipped into a number of other activities. And now that he's no longer a player, he gets to allocate more time to these things. Among these are the numerous reality TV series he's been on like Marriage Bootcamp Reality Stars: Family Edition on WeTV, which gives a kind of entertainment therapy that's not quite the ordinary that you will see in a game or other reality TV show. Also, he habitually and regularly communicates on Social Media with his adoring public. He particularly loves Twitter. In March 2017, Johnson played one game with the Mexican league team Monterrey Fundidores. The team won.

Howie Long - 1993

Howie Long's full thirteen years playing pro American football were spent with the Los Angeles Raiders. With his assistance as a player, the Raiders won the '84 Super Bowl XVIII. Long made it to the Pro Bowl eight times. In 2000, he received his induction into the Hall of Fame for professional football. But that was seven years after he retired. Following his leaving the NFL, he got into broadcasting and acting, and in 2018, became a Fox Sports studio analyst, covering the NFL. He's still making money alright, and so his fortune has reached $16M so far.

Ray Rice - 2014

The start of the American football season in 2017 was three years following Ray Rice's indefinite suspension from the pro football league, due to an incident of mistreatment of Janay Palmer, his fiancée at the time. They later wed. Rice told the public then that he'd return to the NFL, and has publicly attempted to shed light on the physical mistreatment issue. He even made a vow in 2016 to give his entire pay for the season to charities that handle physical mistreatment if a team signed him. None did. But when the NFL asked retired players to join an emerging independent team associated with them, Rice was one of those invited.

Tim Tebow - 2015

In September 2017, with the commencement of the new season, the NFL machinery was just cranking up. But it was without Tim Tebow, former football player, who had recently completed his first year with the New York Mets as a pro player in baseball. In 2016, he went on an agreement with the New York Mets and publicly revealed that he'd be going after a pro baseball career. Tim has been playing in the minor leagues, completing the 2017 and 2018 seasons also with the team and so he continues to get earnings. He has played with the St. Lucie Mets and Columbia Fireflies in Class A.

Michael Vick - 2017

In mid-2017 after leaving football, Michael Vick was enrolled as a coach-intern with the Kansas City Chiefs. However, he didn't follow through, and approximately thirty days later, he took a position with Fox to work on the pre-game show Fox NFL Kickoff on FS1, as a studio analyst. This show precedes Fox NFL Sunday. His new position drew PETA's attention who put out a petition to attempt to have Fox sack Vick as a result of a past situation involving lawyers, Vick, and animals. Also, in 2018, he became an offensive coordinator in a new league, Alliance American Football, for the Atlanta Legends team.

Joe Greene - 1981

From 1969 to 1981, retired NFL defensive tackle "Mean" Joe Greene, more formally known as Charles Greene, was a player with the Pittsburgh Steelers. While active, he achieved All-Pro selections for first-team five times, received the NFL award for the year's best defensive player twice, and went to the Pro Bowl ten times. Mean Joe is generally thought to be one of NFL's most outstanding defensive linemen. He has been singled out for his strong competitive nature, fear-inducing play style, and skills as a leader. He released the book that he wrote about his life, Mean Joe Greene: Built by Football, in 2017.

Jamal Lewis - 2009

It was not surprising that when former running back for the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens, Jamal Lewis, sold his ring from the XLVII Super Bowl, it became national news. It was auctioned for about $50K. Lewis explained he was unable to repay what he owed the Lehman Brothers. He used the funds on business ventures. During the big dip in the economy, Lehman wanted a full repayment, but Lewis was unable to and therefore declared himself bankrupt. Now in 2019, he's a trade show and exhibit services provider Metro Exhibits' president.  A profile from the Bleacher report in 2018, showed him to have retired,  dealing with the after-effects of concussions.

Vince Young - 2014

In 2017, Sports Illustrated made Vince Young the focus of an article. Young was Rookie of the Year in the NFL and a University of Texas American football star. The article highlighted the turbulence that existed between Young and Jeff Fisher when the latter was the chief coach for the Tennessee Titans, and Young was a member of that team. The SI story additionally discussed the turn of events when Young signed up with the CFL team, Saskatchewan Roughriders, in 2017, in a bid to play pro football once more. Unfortunately three months after, his hamstring became torn during training and the team waived him. Vince's wealth is $1.5M in 2019.

Ed McCaffrey - 2003

Ed McCaffrey retired from professional American football in 2003 but stuck with the sport. As a league player, he was operating camps for football and kept doing it. After a while, it became SportsEddy, incorporating basketball, baseball, lacrosse, and soccer camps as well. Ed obviously imparted his love for football to his four sons who also play. Max is with the San Francisco 49ers practice squad; Christian is with the Carolina Panthers; Dylan plays with the University of Michigan, while Luke has accepted an offer to attend Nebraska and play there. In 2018, Ed was appointed Valor Christian High School's chief coach for football.

Ronde Barber - 2012

Ronde Barber, who played sixteen years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was a 2002 Super Bowl winner, went to the Pro Bowls five times, and on three occasions was All-Pro in his first team. So his retiring at 37 in 2012 didn't mean a retirement home and came after intercepting 47 times and more than 1K tackles. This flexible and intelligent player was a cornerback for most of his career, except for his final year when he was a free safety. Barber joined the Fox family as a game analyst in 2013. A nomination has been submitted for him to become a member of the Hall of Fame for professional football in 2019.

Kurt Warner - 2009

Years of paying professional football take a heavy toll on players. By the time they would retire,  they probably would have had several injuries, some quite serious, and seen many doctors. So the idea of a retired QB re-entering the sports arena is not a comfortable one. But Kurt Warner might be intelligent enough and have what he needs at his fingertips to pull off playing ball. Being in the NFL for thirteen years, he earned MVP twice, took his team to the '99 Superbowl, and made it to the Pro Bowls, four times. His Hall of Fame induction for professional football came in 2017.

Randy Moss - 2013

Being called "The Freak" might sound like an insult, but in the case of retired NFL wide receiver, Randy Moss, it's a compliment. This player's career was filled with touchdowns after touchdowns and his salary reflected it. When it came to touchdown receptions, he led the league on five occasions. It was like he always had a big play rolled up his sleeve. Randy was an All-Pro on his first team four times and went to the Pro Bowl six times. He racked up during his career 156 receptions in touchdowns, and more than 15K receiving yards. Both were the second best ever. He transferred his expertise to his being an ESPN analyst in 2016.

Jack Lambert - 1984

Jack Lambert retired more than thirty years ago so very few people still recognize him as the player missing some teeth in player shots back in the day. Lambert loves that he can go places with his family incognito. But in '74, he was that year's top defensive rookie in the NFL. The Hall of Fame for professional football players acknowledged him in '90 as the number one linebacker of his time. He played in the Pro Bowl nine times and made All-Pro eight times over nine years. And one more thing: in '76, he was named NFL's top defensive player for the year. His wealth in 2019 is valued at $2.5M.

Joe Montana - 1995

His 2019 fortune sits at $80 million, he makes wine labeled Montagia and is an owner of horses. With Joe Montana's business endeavors, it seems that he's doing his financial planning in retirement rather well. Montana spent sixteen years in the NFL, fourteen of which were with the San Fransisco 49ers team. As a player, he earned the Super Bowl titles four times. He had the ability to remain cool under pressure and take his team from behind in the game to the winning place. Hence, he was dubbed "The Comeback Kid." His election to the Hall of Fame for pro football players came in 2000. And Montana still gets endorsement contracts.

Calvin Johnson - 2016

Calvin Johnson also had an outstanding career in the NFL. Drafted in 2007, his stint spanned nine years. The end result was that Megatron, his known moniker, made it to the Pro Bowl on six occasions, had touchdown catches totaling eighty-three, and more than 11.5K receiving yards. We wonder what vitamins he took. Also, he was All-Pro on his first team three times. Johnson weighed more than two hundred pounds and was 6'6" tall, and was a difficult player to stop or control. Johnson told the public he was retiring from the NFL in March 2016.

Ray Lewis - 2013

Former NFL linebacker, Ray Lewis, looks pretty good for a retired man. He has neither a sag, bag, or wrinkle on his face and looks quite relaxed. But if he does look cool, he deserves it after seventeen physically grueling years of pro football. But they were fruitful indeed. Lewis walked away from the sport with two wins at the Super Bowl, a couple of best defensive player awards, going to the Pro Bowl thirteen times and making All-Pro on his first team seven times. Lewis, who played with the Baltimore Ravens, was previously an analyst on ESPN. But since 2017, he's been with Fox Sports 1, the sports cable network.

Curtis Martin - 2006

Former NFL running Curtis Martin Jr. played with the New York Jets and New England Patriots. Believed to be among the most outstanding running backs ever, Curtis started playing pro football with the Patriots after being drafted by the NFL in '95. When he was a free agent in '98, he became a member of the Jets until he completed his career in 2006. He retired as a result of a bad knee injury (requiring substantial treatment) sustained in 2006 during the playing season. Among the top leading rushers ever in the NFL, Curtis was ranked number four when he exited football. The U.S. Congress recognized him in 2018 with the Horizon Award.