Mike Iupati’s Pro Bowl career is over.
The 11-year-old veteran retired from the NFL, Iupati told The Spokesman-Review.
“My body was telling me it was time to close the door,” Iupati told the publication in an article published on Monday.
Iupati’s career spanned stints at the San Francisco 49ers (2010-2014), which made him the 17th overall choice in 2010, Arizona Cardinals (2015-2018) and Seattle Seahawks (2019-2020), and included four Pro Bowl selections and one All-Pro first team award in 2012.
A tough model, Iupati faced multiple injuries in the latter part of his career, mainly dealing with a chronic neck problem that started in 2015 and that finally convinced him that his time in football was over. Iupati told The Spokesman-Review that his goal was to play 10 seasons, and he finished a better one, retiring after 11 seasons.
Iupati appeared in 140 games, starting in 139 of them and serving as a solid guard for most of his game days. He crowned his impressive career by starting his 11 final games for the Seahawks, going into retirement with a complete football life behind him.