Retirement is usually a day of celebration. It’s the culmination of 50+ years of grinding with a chance to finally slow down and enjoy the fruits of life. However, for an athlete, retirement is entirely different. See, to become an elite athlete who makes it to the professional leagues, most of the time, this has engulfed a person’s life. It’s taken over every weekend from the time they were five years old. And then, it’s over.
Retirement in sports is not linear. Sometimes, a player has a chance to go through his entire career and retire in his 40s. Other times, injuries take over and make the player less than what they were before. And then there’s Father Time. Don’t know if you’ve heard, but he’s undefeated.
So while retirement is often a happy situation, in sports, it’s more bittersweet. These athletes have to figure out what to do with the next 40-50 years of their lives. Every so often, an athlete feels like that whole “rest of their lives” thing isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and they return to their passion. Who might do that this year? We have one already confirmed, returning to be a GOAT on Tuesday.
1. Serena Williams
When Serena Williams walked away from the sport of tennis four years ago, there was a massive hole to fill. She is the GOAT of the sport. She’s beyond being compared with her peers. She’s in the same conversation as Tom Brady, Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, and Michael Jordan. Her GOAT status is beyond typical “greatest” monikers. Her 23 major championships put her in a league of her own.
And now, she’s coming back. Williams had been toying with a return after playing doubles matches at the Berlin Open and HSBC Championship. She chose Wimbledon to make that return. Williams is taking on No. 53-ranked Maya Joint to start her official comeback.
This could be a short comeback, as Williams has admitted. If she doesn’t have that same ability to compete at the highest level at the age of 44 years old, she might make this a nice story and walk away again. It’s not like she needs to do this for the money or the fame. She’s still one of the most recognizable female athletes in the world. This is pure competition for her. She wants to show she is still the best. Let’s see what she has left in the tank.
2. Aaron Donald
While Aaron Donald’s GOAT status is not solidified like Williams’ is, he is considered one of the greatest defensive players in the history of football. Donald has heard the whispers of a comeback after the Los Angeles Rams traded for Myles Garrett. Garrett is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year after just breaking Michael Strahan’s sack record. He goes from a Browns team in the basement to a Rams team looking to win a Super Bowl.
What better way to get said Super Bowl than by adding a defensive tackle who has historically been unguardable? Donald toyed with retirement after the Rams won the Super Bowl in 2021-22, but he was talked into returning to defend the title. He held of for another couple of years, retiring after the 2023 season.
That was three years ago, so Donald has to prove he’s stayed in game shape this entire time. Even the most elite athletes have a hard time keeping up with football weight. Can Donald go from eating whatever he wanted to following a strict diet for a defensive tackle while working out like a psycho to get back on the field? We think he’s the type of player to make that transition in his life. Retirement might be nice, but there’s nothing like returning home.
3. Michael Phelps
Speaking of GOATs, it’s now or never for Michael Phelps. This might seem like an insane long shot, but if Phelps was going to train for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, we would hear about it this year. This is a special Olympic Games, as it’s being held on U.S. soil. This is a rarity for American athletes to have the opportunity to swim, skate, or overall compete in front of their home country. The last time the Summer Olympics were played in the U.S. was in 1996.
Phelps turns 41 years old on the day this article publishes, so he’s significantly older than his competition, but this is such an opportunity to bring eyes to the Olympics. We feel there will be pressure from all sides for Phelps to attempt a comeback. He may be 41 years old, but there’s something in his genes that makes him the best swimmer to ever hit water.
Phelps has done everything there is to do in swimming outside of winning a gold medal in front of his home crowd. This is what gets athletes out of bed in the morning. Phelps will be 43 years old when the Games happen, but we just saw Dara Torres return in 2008 in her 40s and win three silver medals. This could be the comeback of the century if Phelps makes it true.
4. Madison Bumgarner
In April 2023, we saw Madison Bumgarner for the last time. He got shelled while playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks. After signing a five-year deal worth $85 million, he fell apart almost immediately. Maybe his arm was shot, or it’s possible he was distracted by his horses. Either way, it seemed like a superstar pitcher had lost it overnight.
The last start Bumgarner made was in April 2023, as we just said. That’s three years ago at this point. A few things happened in that time. For one, his contract expired. He’s no longer the property of the Arizona Diamondbacks. We’re not saying he should have hard feelings about how it ended, but nobody wants to continue that partnership.
Bumgarner is one of the great playoff pitchers in the game’s history. Could he see himself signed as a flier for the stretch run? It’s already June 30th, so someone would have to start moving on this, but it’s definitely not impossible. He’s still just 36 years old. There are plenty of pitchers still making waves at this age. In fact, some of the biggest free agents from last season were in that age range. Bumgarner is a long shot because of the timing, but something tells us we need to keep an eye out.
5. John Wall
Basketball is an interesting beast. Michael Jordan's return from retirement is the most famous in sports history. When he wore 45 for the Chicago Bulls, it was bringing the world back to normalcy. He even returned to play for the Washington Wizards, which is the weirdest timeline we could live in. His returns to the court were always worth it. Even the Wizards one.
John Wall is no Michael Jordan, but we haven’t had a good return-from-retirement story. Wall’s situation is much different than Jordan’s. He had to leave the NBA because injuries had taken such a toll on his body.
Last season, Wall discussed the possibility he could return to the court. He announced an official comeback tour, but he was eventually snapped up by Amazon to help with their coverage. He took a year to do the broadcasting thing, but what about that comeback? Were there any teams interested? Did he choose Amazon because it was a guaranteed paycheck, or did he do it because he didn’t have it anymore? If he tried it last season, we see him going through with it next season.
6. Derek Carr
If there’s any sport with a ton of returns, it’s football, so we’re going to go on a little NFL run here. Derek Carr has already announced on his podcast with his brother that he would consider an NFL return with the right team. One doesn’t say that unless they are really considering a return. While the Chiefs and Seahawks are likely not calling Carr, we still see him convincing himself that a return to the gridiron is the right idea. Podcasting will always be there.
Carr has had a successful career with the Las Vegas Raiders and New Orleans Saints, but both of those teams have young studs under center who will take the reigns from here on out. Neither one of those teams needs what Carr is putting down. They want to make Carr a backup, but there will be a team that makes the move at the right time. Whether it’s in the middle of the season or in training camp, there will be an urgent QB name, and Carr’s name will come up.
Heck, Philip Rivers returned under center last season to help the Indianapolis Colts salvage their season. It really turned into a laughing stock. What’s hardest about this is finding the right team for Carr. He won’t want someone like the Browns or Jets, but if a contending team suffers a devastating quarterback injury, the Carr well could be tapped once again.
7. Xavien Howard
Cornerback/safety is never going to be as sexy a return as a quarterback, but Xavien Howard still very much has a future in this league. He’s going to be 33 years old, which is getting up there for the secondary, but there are so many examples of players extending their impact late into their careers. While some will point to some examples of times this didn’t work, as long as Harrison Smith is still patrolling the top of the box, safeties will argue for longevity.
Howard retired last season in the middle of the year. He started the first four games for the Indianapolis Colts, but after about a month of games, he said no more. Howard retired in the middle of the season, and it was the first domino to fall in what became a season of issues for the Colts.
Howard likely doesn’t return to a team he left high and dry, but he can find a team that would be willing to make the plunge if he still possesses the talent. Howard can still do great things in the secondary if he’s healthy. He had 11 combined tackles in four games last season, but he didn’t do anything else of note. He has more to give this game than that.
8. Mason Crosby
This list would not be complete without a good kicker story. Short of 53-year-old Adam Vinatieri coming out of retirement, the most fun kicker story belongs to Mason Crosby. The Green Bay Packers’ great knows it’s just a matter of time before a kick is needed and a kicker is not coming up in the clutch. Despite his advancing age, teams will still line up for Crosby to get a better kicker in the door.
Crosby is one of the best kickers of this era. The former Super Bowl champion and NFL scoring leader has made exactly 400 kicks in his career. Maybe he likes having a nice round number as his career kicks, but he also knows about the round numbers they pay to kickers in the NFL.
The NFL always needs kickers. Forty-two kickers took one off the stand last season. Even at 42 years old, you’re telling me that Crosby couldn’t knock one through the uprights on command? Crosby has a chance to bring his talents back to the NFL despite being out of the organization since 2023.
9. Andy Murray
Back to tennis, we might see some of the recently retired stars making a comeback. We don’t think Rafael Nadal will un-retire after the massive retirement tour he was given at the French Open. His retirement is special, and we don’t want to sully that. However, for Andy Murray, we’re looking to see if he takes any inspiration from Serena Williams.
Murray played through the 2024 Paris Olympics and hung up his racket for good. Or did he? Murray seems like a prime candidate to feel better after a few years of serious injuries. If his body is feeling well, we don’t see a reason not to attempt a comeback at 39 years old. His spry self can teach these young kids what a real professional looks like.
Murray isn’t going to come back and beat the field, but he can show that he’s better than his final showings. He was basically playing on one leg for a lot of these late-career matches. If he can do it all over again and get the surgeries he needed, he wouldn’t need any of this, but we digress. Murray would be a prime candidate to take another stab at a major.
10. Elena Della Donne
The prime candidates for those who could return involve those who were dealing with injuries and just couldn’t do the rehab anymore. The process to get back on the field or court is rigorous and emotional. It takes a lot out of an athlete. Eventually, it just doesn’t seem worth it, and that is what seems to have happened with women’s basketball star Elena Della Donne.
It’s been a little over a year since Della Donne was coming back from yet another injury with the Washington Mystics before she just said, “I’m done.” And just like that, a legend walked away. Della Donne was someone who changed the landscape of college basketball. She took the University of Delaware to different heights. While the powerhouses of UConn and Tennessee were still there, Della Donne proved you can make an impact at a smaller school.
She did the same for the Mystics. The former league MVP is the only member of the 50-40-90 club, representing her shooting percentages from the field, from three, and from the free-throw line. If she can still shoot the ball, she can be impactful on the court. As of this writing, the Mystics are playing .500 basketball, so they can use Della Donne. Will she answer the call?
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