Ali Marpet Planned A Short Career
March 1st, 2022
Retired LG Ali Marpet.
Pretty cool stuff from Albert Breer of SI.com about Bucs left guard Ali Marpet’s shocking retirement on Sunday.
To those in his inner circle, Marpet’s retirement was not shocking whatsoever, Breer notes. In fact Breer details, Marpet never planned a long career. Breer claims that before the Bucs drafted Marpet, the Hobart College celebrity had calculated what he needed to earn in his career to set himself up to live a comfortable life.
In fact, the 2021 season was when Marpet reached his goal. So he didn’t need football any longer.
Ali Marpet’s surprise retirement wasn’t such a surprise to those who knew him best. The idea that he could leave football early had been on his radar for a while, going back to when he signed a five-year, $55.125 million deal in October 2018. Coming out of Division III Hobart, Marpet was never under the illusion earning such a contract was even remotely automatic. By the time he got to Tampa Bay, he set financial goals for when he figured he would be set for life, also knowing his second contract was like most NFL contracts—good for three years, as his reps would tell him, and then “we’ll see.” Hitting his monetary goal would coincide with the third year of that contract, which was this year.
So, during this season, Marpet started talking seriously with those around him about the idea of walking after the season concluded and drawing up a plan for post-football life. He won his first Super Bowl last year. He made his first Pro Bowl this year. He exceeded so much of what he thought was possible. The one thing that might have kept him around—Tom Brady asking him to come back—came off the table with Brady’s own retirement after the Bucs’ playoff loss against the Rams.
The element about how Marpet might have stuck around another season if Tom Brady were still here is very depressing to Joe and should be a warning to Bucs fans.
If Marpet decided to throw in the towel, in part, because Brady retired, what do you think Bucs free agents like Chris Godwin, Rob Gronkowski and Playoff Lenny are thinking? This is why it is so imperative that Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht solve this quarterback puzzle before the free agency dinner bell rings.
Licht likes to remind folks how the talent on the team helped lure Brady to the Bucs. And Licht is absolutely correct. But it is a two-way street, as we have seen now with Marpet’s retirement.
What quarterback do the Bucs have to entice free agents?
March 1st, 2022 at 4:26 am
Out of the penthouse back to the outhouse.
March 1st, 2022 at 5:50 am
If Brady is playing games and wants to come back (to us) then he’s doing some serious damage
March 1st, 2022 at 5:52 am
So abandoning his team with dead-cap money after both signing a 5-yr contract he didn’t plan to fulfill and restructured to boot, was a pre-meditated idea? Cool man, what a guy!
March 1st, 2022 at 6:32 am
The five year contract was more for the Bucs sake. He is cool, he had a plan, and stuck to it. He gave as much as he got. Don’t know how you can hate on Marpet for wanting out. It’s not your head beating on Aaron Donald Leighroy.
March 1st, 2022 at 6:38 am
His calculations were way off..
March 1st, 2022 at 6:58 am
This becomes more humorous by the day. Bucs never ‘owned’ Brady; quite the opposite. He ‘rented’ us for 2 years, just like he rented Jeter’s castle. So for anyone to imply that losing Brady is a death-knell for the Bucs is silly.
Bucs had built a solid team PRIOR to Brady coming. And that’s why he opted to come here; TB12 could see the POTENTIAL in this team. But it needed a few pieces to REALLY be competitive. It NEEDED a true leader more than anything else, and Brady filled that square perfectly. The fact that he kinda brought along a few of his own weapons (Gronk, AB & Fournette) was certainly a nice touch. It did cost us dearly, but the reward was worth it IMO.
So are we back at Square One now that Brady has retired & his ‘weapons’ are no longer in the fold? Nah, I’d guess that we’re roughly back to where we were in 2019, although not in as good salary CAP position as we were then. Brady (and his weapons) represented a near-instantaneous shot in the arm in terms of TEAM-BUILDING; he got us over the top in 1 year. This time it’ll almost surely take longer, but TEAM-BUILDING is still the right approach.
March 1st, 2022 at 7:08 am
Leighroy, how can you say that Ali ‘abandoned us’. We don’t ‘own’ anyone on this team; they’re businessmen & have every right to do what’s best for their business. Football’s an extremely violent sport, and he gave us 7 great years. Who could possibly blame him for walking away while he still could?
And as far as him leaving us with Dead CAP, that’s on the Bucs, not on Marpet. JL CHOSE to slide a chunk of Marpet’s salary to future years so that we could save salary CAP space for other needs last year. He did that with a lot of players, and now the chickens have come home to roost (Brady, Gronk & Suh also have a lot of Dead CAP this year in case you didn’t notice).
Which brings up the point that Tom Brady didn’t fulfill his contract either. Was that ‘pre-meditated’ too? Nah, business decision. We didn’t ‘own’ him either.
March 1st, 2022 at 7:10 am
Marpet didn’t retire cause Brady did. Nice spin job Joe!!! LOL
March 1st, 2022 at 7:18 am
DR: How can Suh & Gronk have dead cap with one-year contracts?
March 1st, 2022 at 7:31 am
It’s been quite a while since the Bucs drafted a guy who became great, a Pro Bowler, and retired a Buc, not cut, but retired a Buc.
Like over 20 years or so.
Paul Gruber maybe?
March 1st, 2022 at 7:36 am
Marpet was not only an outstanding football player, he was also a very smart financial planner. He is set for life financially. And he should have a long healthy life to enjoy it.
March 1st, 2022 at 7:37 am
A professional athlete with a “financial plan?” How rare, and kudos to him for following through.
March 1st, 2022 at 7:45 am
Cobraboy … You’re right, it’s not really listed as ‘Dead CAP’ but rather as the 2022 ‘CAP Hit’ because of the way their 2021 contracts were written. Bucs slid part (or all) of their signing bonus to 2022 (Suh $6.8 mil and Gronk $5.0 mil). Essentially the same effect as Dead CAP because we’re on the hook for it this year even though neither player is on our roster. But yes, it’s not listed as Dead CAP.
As an aside, I just noticed that Antonio Brown’s contract has disappeared from our Dead CAP (it had been $2.3 mil I think). Wondering now if something got resolved there with the NFL.
March 1st, 2022 at 7:47 am
@Cobra
Deferred signing bonus
March 1st, 2022 at 7:49 am
Cobraboy Licht is going to keep pushing money down the road and will be still paying on the roster 5 years after they are gone.
March 1st, 2022 at 7:56 am
Fast forward to 2025 vita vea is the only one on the roster but it shows we are still paying 6 more players.
March 1st, 2022 at 8:00 am
Thanks for the info…
March 1st, 2022 at 8:02 am
“Pushing money down the road” is why I would prefer to go with QBs we have (assuming Gabbert signs), maybe add a budget vet, and clean up the cap issues now.
The fact is any retooling with this roster is a lot easier than from the Schiano or Raheem era.
March 1st, 2022 at 8:38 am
How can anyone really blame Marpet for retiring while he’s still healthy?….With his concussions & the advent of CTE….it should be a scary thought for most players….especially on the line.
His contracts, by design, were beneficial to the Bucs.
Great for Ali….wish him well. He was a fantastic Buc.
March 1st, 2022 at 9:21 am
I’ll always remember Marpet as a great player who played hard on every snap. That being said, he never struck me as a guy where “football was life” for him. It was a job and a means to an end. No shame in that. I hope he enjoys retirement. He also comes from a family of means given his parents are involved in the film and music industries. He’s going to be just fine. Better to leave football a few years too early instead of a few years too late.
March 1st, 2022 at 9:31 am
@ Cobra
Agreed. Let’s get the salary cap under control. Sign our younger free agents. Draft well and put ourselves in a position to chase another Super Bowl in 2024-2025.
Signing an expensive free agent QB would be like putting pearl earrings on a pig…
March 1st, 2022 at 9:41 am
Retiring early due to unforeseen circumstances to your health that arise unexpectedly is one thing. Knowing you intend to only play 3 years of a 5-year deal the day you sign your name is dishonest.
If the narrative was “hey these concussions this year really messed me up, I gotta retire,” I’m not as irked. But instead the narrative is “this was always my plan,” and that’s BS.
March 1st, 2022 at 9:43 am
Good for him. He clearly knows how his personal priorities are stacked and did what he wanted regardless of what the norm may be. You only get one life and we are lucky that Ali shared some of his with us.
March 1st, 2022 at 9:48 am
Leighroy it was probably both. Also the contract he signed had no guaranteed money after 3 years. IDK how he is screwing over his team. It’s not like he signed a contract with guaranteed money and retired when he was owed guaranteed money.
March 1st, 2022 at 9:50 am
Leighroy, there’s zero chance he was not going to be asked to restructure that contract this year. 5 year contracts are never 5 year contracts. As his agent said, they are three year contracts and then “we’ll see”. So he didn’t do anything the team wasn’t already going to do.
As for this BS that he retired because Brady wasn’t coming back. That’s stupid. He was retiring anyways. Brady would maybe have gotten us another year with him, that doesnt make the opposite true.
March 1st, 2022 at 10:22 am
Tremendous respect for Marpet. A lot of players probably envy him. They come into the league sayin the same thing..Get in, make some cash and get out. But they adopt this glamorous lifestyle they must keep feeding and live way above their heads. They are hooked and stuck. Not ALi. He had a plan and stuck with it. I admire him for that. Good Luck Ali. You are amongst the few who kept your head on your shoulders and stuck with a plan.
March 1st, 2022 at 10:40 am
I’ve read some research that points out CTE is not always the result of a brain jarring knockout hit. Much research now points to the thousands of smaller blows to the brain…exactly like the kind linemen absorb on virtually every play.
You do not have to be knocked out or suffer a dramatic head blow to end up with CTE. The endless smaller blows can be just as damaging.
Ali Marpet is a total success story! He played his heart out while on the field. He represented us well off the field. I’m thrilled that a great Buc got to go out over achieving, getting all the major goals, and still with his health.
I can’t believe this is a converstation had by fans of this franchise and this state’s sports heritage after Scot Brantley!
March 1st, 2022 at 11:17 am
I’m feeling pretty sure they will not be finding a QB that would be enough to entice players to play in TB. I feel like we should set realistic expectations for a QB who won’t be a reason FA’s avoid the place. Wentz is beginning to seem a reasonable option.
March 1st, 2022 at 11:59 am
Somebody wake me up in 2040 when the Bucs make the and win a playoff game again
March 1st, 2022 at 12:03 pm
all the locker room teasing about the little banjo started to wear on ali…
they would hide his little ukulele, water log it, de-string it, tie a brick to it and sink it in the ice tub…
big red stuffing it like a turkey during thanksgiving with barbecued meats was straight brutal…
what else was this poor little hapless ukulele going to endure…
it just made him crazy so he quit…
now ali can sit down by the river playing his ukelele in a huck finn hat and tye dyed shirt
#LittleBanjoAbuse
March 1st, 2022 at 12:22 pm
I thought it was Brady’s retirement that triggered Ali’s retirement plans. He seems like a really good guy and one helluva success story. It was quite an odyssey, Marpet was a DIII long shot who was lucky to get invited to the Senior Bowl. He was an absolute standout at the Senior Bowl, he put the league on notice with his strength, agility, and coach-ability (he took instruction well and put it to work immediately). From DIII to riches, a Super Bowl ring, and being named to the Pro Bowl, that is quite an adventure.
March 1st, 2022 at 12:27 pm
I know the Bucs don’t have a lot of draft capital to throw around, but virtually no one in MSM are talking about the Bucs having the tools for a QB to come in and be successful.
March 1st, 2022 at 12:54 pm
Funny that he had to play seven years at an NFL salary to be “set for life.” One season on his new contract should have done that.
Good for him, but amusing. Most people would consider “set for life” as being far, far below what he stockpiled.
March 1st, 2022 at 3:24 pm
It is hard to swallow, but we are not going to be a good team anymore. The Bucs roster is too good to be a 2-15 type team, but they are probably somewhere in the 5-12 to 8-9 range for 2022 with the QB situation.
March 1st, 2022 at 10:54 pm
Why aren’t we talking about Marpet possibly coming out of retirement after a year or two? LOL.
We have time before the draft to stew on it.
March 2nd, 2022 at 12:32 am
’79 Defense
He made about $37million. He’s also only 28, so he could live another 60 years. I’m guessing he wanted enough in the bank that he could live off just the interest and leave the principal to his children when he dies.