Retirement Odds – Which Superstar will Hang’em Up Next?

First Jeff Gordon put it in park, then David Ortiz announced he’d throw down his bat next year, and now word is that Kobe Bryant will quit jacking ill-advised treys at season’s end. The sporting world is hemorrhaging superstars faster than Chip Kelly is losing respect.

I suppose that’s just the nature of time, though. Nothing gold can stay. Unless, maybe, you’re a Russian Olympian who’s more test-tube than human.

As the calendar gets set to turn to 2016, we’re going to see more of our heroes hang’em up.

Who’s going to go gentle into that good night, and who will rage (RAGE!) at the dying of the light?

Odds are as follows …

Odds on which sports superstar will announce their retirement next:

Kevin Garnett: 3/2

KG is on a one-year contract in Minny and is as much a mentor as he is a player at this point. He should and probably will call it a career at the end of the season.

Tim Duncan: 3/1

Duncan is still a productive player – especially in crunch time (as he showed in last year’s playoffs). He also might not have enough saved for retirement. But the retirement rumors were rampant last year and will only heat up at the end of this season. We could be watching his swan song without even knowing it.

Peyton Manning: 3/1

The rumors are that Manning wants to come back next year. But he’s basically already lost his starting job with the Denver Broncos to Brock Osweiler, and it could be difficult to find another starting role given how he’s played this year. That said, I’m guessing some team gives the NFL’s all-time leading passer a shot at heading its offense if Manning really is keen to do so. (He’s this high on the list because of when the NFL season ends; he can get the drop on the rest of the contenders as early as January.)

Jaromir Jagr: 5/1

The ageless Czech sniper just keeps on coming back for one more year. He’s 43 years old, but leads the Florida Panthers in both goals and points. Expect him to keep on keepin on as long as he’s productive.

Tiger Woods: 7/1

Injuries are ravaging the 39-year-old, and he isn’t sure when he’ll next play in a competitive tournament. But don’t expect any official retirement announcements in 2016. The man is far too competitive to stash his clubs this early … or at least too prideful to tell the world he’s done.

Venus Williams: 8/1

A couple years ago, Venus would have been higher on this list. But she has had a career resurgence of sorts and even won three singles titles in 2015. Expect her back in 2016.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 20/1

Junior (now 40) has been firm in his desire to keep racing, saying that he’s having too much fun to stop.

Bartolo Colon: 25/1

With the recent retirement of LaTroy Hawkins, Colon became the oldest active major leaguer. The rotund 42-year-old hurler fully intends to play next season, though.

Adrian Peterson: 30/1

AP has had a tumultuous career marred by injuries and scandal. He’s also now 30 years old, which is like 95 in NFL-running-back years. But he’s proving that relative geriatrics can still be a force, leading the NFL in rushing in 2015. He should be game for another season or two.

Tom Brady: 75/1

Brady wants to play for another decade. That would make him nearly 50. He’s not going to last that long, but he is still at his peak and won’t be settling down in his easy chair anytime soon.

Roger Goodell: 100/1

Haha. Over his dead body (which some Pats fans may be arranging at this very moment).

(Photo credit: Cliff (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode]. Photo has been cropped.)