On Tuesday evening, Luke Kuechly announced he’d had enough.

During his retirement video, the Carolina Panthers’ 28-year-old star linebacker tearfully explained that he still loved football, and after watching him terrorize offenses for eight years, that was easy to believe.

Every Sunday, No. 59 was a whirling dervish, a Tasmanian devil who lived in opponent’s backfields, and routinely sniffed out plays with his killer instincts.

For any football lover, Kuechly was a joy to watch, one of the best inside linebackers to ever do it. As a Hall of Fame voter, he absolutely passed the “you just know it when you see it” test and his vast accomplishments back it up.

Five-time first-team All-Pro. Two-time second-team All-Pro. Defensive Player of the Year (2013). Defensive Rookie of the Year (2012). Seven Pro Bowls.

Superb.

“In my heart, I know it’s the right thing to do.” pic.twitter.com/mSDyJ0iEMw — Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) January 15, 2020

Kuechly’s retirement is also the continuation of a trend. Calvin Johnson retired in 2016 after nine seasons at age 30. Patrick Willis retired in 2015 after eight seasons at 29. Rob Gronkowski retired last offseason after nine seasons at 29. Andrew Luck retired in August after seven seasons, one of which he missed entirely, at 29.

That’s five great players, four with Hall of Fame pedigrees, who stepped away sooner than anyone anticipated, and with many more years of great football ahead of them.

Oh yes, we’re witnessing a sea change in pro football, folks, one where players who love the game and are great at it are still deciding to retire. Back in the day, you’d have had to drag these guys off the field, and not until after you painfully watched them run around on Sundays with a gigantic fork in their backs.

Panthers middle linebacker Luke Kuechly announced the end of his NFL career after eight seasons in Carolina. (Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports) More

Now, players are more knowledgeable than ever about football’s dangers, about the business nature of it. That’s what Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch revealed Sunday, with a postgame media session that may have been confusing for some.

“It’s a vulnerable time for a lot of these young dudes — they need to be taking care of their chicken right, you feel me?” Lynch began. “If it was me, or if I had an opportunity to let these little young [players] know something, I’d say, ‘Take care of your money, African, cause that [expletive] don’t last forever.’ Now I’ve been on the other side of retirement and it’s good when you get over there and you can do whatever the [expletive] you want to, so I’ll tell y’all right now while y’all in it, take care of your bread so when you’re done, you go ahead and take care of yourself.

“So while y’all at it right now, take care of your bodies, take care of your chicken, take care of your mentals. Because we ain’t lasting that long. I had a couple players that I played with that they’re no longer here. They’re no longer. So start taking care of your mentals, your bodies and your chicken so that when you’re ready to walk away, you walk away and you can be able to do what you want to do.”

I was finna meme this but imma need y’all to let Marshawn Lynch words marinate first pic.twitter.com/sIgmmZA4wN — Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) January 13, 2020

Now is as good a time as any to mention that Kuechly has a history of concussions, at least three of note.

Pro football has been built on the backs of past warriors it used up, spit out and discarded. And while the money, prestige and everything that comes with being a bonafide football star has always been nice, today’s players have learned from previous generations that the price they pay with their bodies doesn’t fully come due until their 40s, 50s and 60s — and it’s one hell of a tax.

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