Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Players with careers of similar quality and shape (thru 2019-20), Note, this is done in an automated way, so we apologize for any errors, & please. He never played another NBA game after the age of 28. David Pollack has become a star broadcaster, thanks to his role on ESPN’s “College GameDay,” but his NFL career ended as quickly as it began because of a frightening injury. A name many modern fans may not be familiar with because his career was cut short after just eight seasons by back injuries, but Brad Daugherty was an exceptional talent for the early 90s Cleveland Cavaliers. Before David Pollack, this was a tragic story that crushed fans of the Cincinnati Bengals. Former MLB starter Mark Mulder’s career on the mound was productive but far too short. Center In 2017, Jackson told USA Today he wished he’d never played football and wouldn’t let his kids play the game because it’s “so violent, so rough.”. In just 12 seasons in professional baseball, Sandy Koufax proved himself one of the greatest pitchers in history — but he was robbed of even more dominance. Arguably the best football player on this list, Gale Sayers landed in the Pro Football Hall of Fame despite only playing for seven seasons in the NFL. He hardly missed a game in his career until his final season, when he missed 10 of them because of an injury to his big toe. A three-time NBA All-Star and former rookie of the year, Brandon Roy was forced to call it quits in his prime because of problems with his knees. Unlike other athletes on this list, Sharpe never missed a single game during his career. Injuries are a fact of life when it comes to playing sports, but some athletes have no luck when it comes to staying healthy. Like several others on this list, Oden’s problem came down to his knees, which severely limited his 7-foot frame in terms of mobility. Daugherty also held the team's all-time rebounding mark (5227) until 2008, when Zydrunas Ilgauskas surpassed it. Mulder even led the AL in wins for the 2001 season and racked up more than 100 of them in his short career — but he should’ve had many more. Just ahead of the 2019 season, Luck shocked the world by walking away from the game after a season in which he took the Indianapolis Colts to the playoffs. He was a total workhorse during his short career, playing for at least 37 minutes per game in three of his six total seasons. The 7-footer spent eight seasons in the NBA, all with the Cavs, and was a five-time All-Star in that span.
Brad Daugherty was taken first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1986 draft. The two-sport star seemed invincible to fans in the late 1980s but his body would falter a bit under the stress of his year-round athletic pursuits. In 2011, Roy announced his retirement at the tender age of 27, citing his problematic knees as the reason. us, High School: In seven seasons with the Jaguars, Boselli was recognized as one of football’s best offensive tackles, allowing just 15.5 total sacks in that time and being named to five Pro Bowls.
Not only has Daugherty had his fair share of success in NASCAR, but he made his mark in basketball and was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in May 2001. Unlike running backs, NFL quarterbacks are often able to play for 15-plus seasons, provided they keep winning — but Daunte Culpepper wasn’t so lucky. He only spent nine seasons in MLB, but logged fewer than 20 starts in three of those seasons because of persistent injuries.
He played in at least 80 games in each of his first three seasons in the NBA but played in less than 60 games in four of the last five seasons of his career, missing nearly two entire seasons.
In his first five seasons as a full-time starter, Culpepper was pure magic, being named to three Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams, and twice taking the Minnesota Vikings to the playoffs. At 28 years old, she was forced to quit playing the game she had mastered. In 2011, at the age of 30, Ming hung up his sneakers for good, blaming constant injuries to his feet and ankles for his sudden retirement.
He averaged 1,000 yards per season for his entire career, but it all came to a sudden end in 1984, when he suffered a severe knee injury in what would be his final NFL game.
In eight seasons in the NFL, Willis was a seven-time Pro Bowler and a six-time All-Pro, and was named the league’s defensive rookie of the year.
These days, Campbell can hardly walk after having both knees replaced and four back surgeries, but he doesn’t blame football for his condition. Photo Credits: Netflix; Pop TV; Robert Viglasky, Hartswood Films; Fred Hayes/Disney+, Fox, PopTV; Bettina Strauss/Netflix; Nicole Rivelli/Amazon, Netflix, Frank Masi/Apple, Disney, Jasper Savage/Hulu; Diyah Pera/CW. Cook would miss the next two seasons and would undergo two shoulder operations but would eventually retire in 1973, at the age of 25. At 13 seasons, the length of Kerry Wood’s MLB career was longer than some on this list but it included 14 stints on the disabled list and a ton of shackled potential. Pollack was effective during his first season in the NFL but his career suddenly ended during the first game of his second season, when he broke his neck while making a tackle. Join our linker program. Cleveland Cavaliers great Brad Daugherty likely could’ve landed in the Basketball Hall of Fame if injuries hadn’t cut his career short. He seemed to be living up to expectations by being named an MLB All-Star in 2003 but his career unfortunately evaporated not long after that.