Pat McAfee, the NFL's best punter and one of its most interesting characters, officially announced his retirement on Thursday. He's only 29. But McAfee, who describes himself as a "creative person," had dreams that extended beyond kicking a football for a living. Plus, he had made enough in his eight NFL seasons to pursue other dreams.

"It was a hard decision, very, very hard because I absolutely love the Colts," McAfee said, via WTHR. "I think that's why I was so upset with how the [Ryan] Grigson era was going because Jim Irsay has just been a godsend for me and my family. He's the reason the American dream has come true not only for me but for my dad, who I had a chance to give a business to. I love Irsay and I love my teammates and all the young guys we have, so it's very difficult. But whenever you're a creative person, whenever you can make somebody laugh, that's real fulfillment. You're making somebody's day better and this is giving me that [opportunity]."

Retiring from the NFL also meant that McAfee is no longer beholden to the the league's substance-abuse policy. So he tried Adderall, which is banned by the league.

First day of retirement I tried adderal for my first time... completely understand why it's considered a PED in the league.. #Limitless — Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 3, 2017

Adderall is a stimulant that, when abused, "can cause rapid or irregular heartbeat, delirium, panic, psychosis and heart failure," according to drugfree.org.

During his career, McAfee would tweet about his (seemingly not-so-)random drug tests, including the time right after he made a 4/20 joke, following a boom-stick hit, or in the aftermath of a superhuman 67-yard punt.

Despite all the administrative annoyances, McAfee enjoyed his time in the league.

"The NFL is really cool, and if I was a quarterback or played a position where I could have more of a grip on the game, I'd really love it," he said this week. "But I didn't feel fulfillment out of punting. I didn't feel fulfillment the way I did once I started making people laugh. Like 'Cool, I'm really impacting people.' Now I'll have the freedom to do that full time."