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Life in Orange County, Calif., must be pretty good. Playing fantasy football and hanging out with family.
That’s how newly-retired, and former Georgia triple-threat, Champ Bailey spends his days.
The former 12-time Pro Bowler still has numerous employment opportunities, but for the first few weeks of retirement he has been hanging out with his wife and four year old son in Southern California, which is where his wife grew up.
“There were teams that still wanted me to come in as of yesterday,” Bailey told Mike Klis of the Denver Post on the day he announced his retirement from the NFL. “I just felt it was time to move on. I’m done playing the game of cat-and-mouse seeing who’s willing to do this or that. It’s not what I’m used to and it’s time to move on. There’s better things I can be doing.”
Bailey’s ready to move on to a different role around the game, perhaps as an analyst. One of the rights-holding networks reached about to him about broadcasting. Or perhaps just as a fan.
“Look, I play fantasy football now,” Bailey told the Post. “I picked up Ronnie Hillman for my fantasy team. I saw Montee Ball go down and I said ‘Ronnie has to step up.’ I texted somebody on the team, ‘Tell Ronnie to take advantage.’ He’s taken off.”
The former first-team All-SEC selection played for only two teams during his 15-year career. The Washington Redskins drafted him in the first round of the 1999 NFL Draft. After spending five years in the nation’s capital, the Redskins traded Bailey to Denver, where he would play out his final 10 seasons.
After the Broncos released him earlier this year, Bailey signed with the New Orleans Saints but failed to make the final roster due to a lingering foot injury that sidelined him the majority of his final season — 2013 — with Denver.
Teams, indeed, did come calling after the Saints cut him. Bailey worked out for the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens.
His resume speaks for itself. The Folkston, Ga., native will likely be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
“The work is done,” Bailey said to the Post. “There’s nothing I can do about it now. Looking back, I think it’s a first-ballot career, but I’m not voting. I just hope I convinced enough people that it was.”
Bailey — once and often regarded as the league’s best corner, even over Darrelle Revis — had his best seasons early in his days in Denver. During the 2005 and 2006 seasons, Bailey recorded 19 total interceptions. He continued to play at a high-level through the 2012 season, before being hampered by his foot in 2013.
Bailey announced his retirement on Oct. 28. After the first few weeks, he’s adjusting well to his new life.
“I’m very content,” Bailey told Klis. “The last two months I’ve had time to see if I enjoy sitting around watching football and not being out there. The first couple weeks were rough because I was kind of still in it, still only a couple weeks removed. And I’m looking at plays and yelling at the TV. But now I’ve calmed down. I watch it, I love it. Still talk football with a lot of guys.”
After living in Birmingham, Ala., Jordan left the ground zero of SEC Nation to head south to Florida to tell the unique stories of the renowned tradition of SEC football. In his free time, his mission is to find the best locales around.
