Monday 18 March 2019 17:28, UK
New Orleans Saints center Max Unger retired Saturday in a surprising development, multiple outlets reported.
Unger, who turns 33 next month, completed his 10th NFL season and earned his third Pro Bowl selection in 2018.
He had one year left on a three-year, $22m contract and was set to earn $5.1m in base salary in 2019.
With his help, New Orleans ranked third in the league last year in scoring at 31.5 points per game and Drew Brees was only sacked 17 times, fewest of any quarterback in the NFL with at least 10 starts.
Unger started 130 regular season and 12 postseason games with the Seattle Seahawks (2009-14) and Saints (2015-18).
He missed only one of the Saints' 64 games over the past four seasons. He led the team with 1,013 offensive snaps in 2018.
