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Inside Andrew Luck's curious second career as Stanford football GM after NFL retirement
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- Inside Andrew Luck's curious second career as Stanford football GM after NFL retirement
Inside Andrew Luck's curious second career as Stanford football GM after NFL retirement originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
Andrew Luck was a Stanford legend as a player. Now, the former No. 1 pick is trying to breathe life into the program in an entirely different era of college football.
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The Cardinal have suffered in the NIL era. With strict academic standards and a lack of resources, Stanford hasn't won more than four games in a season since 2018, when Luck was playing out what would be his final season in the NFL.
With a new head coach in place and a win to start the season, Luck and Stanford are hoping 2026 is the start of a revival near Palo Alto.
Here's what you need to know about Luck's role at Stanford and his retirement from the NFL seven years later.
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Where is Andrew Luck now?
Luck is serving as general manager of Stanford football , a position he's held since late 2024.
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The former phenom never showed any interest in returning to the NFL, at least publicly, but he was interested in helping out his alma mater. General managers are becoming a necessity in an era of college football dominated by money, the transfer portal, and constant roster movement, and Stanford beat some other programs to the punch by hiring Luck for that role.
Luck took the step of firing coach Troy Taylor in March of 2025 after Taylor was the subject of a misconduct investigation, and he kept the job in the family: after bringing in his former coach for one season in Indianapolis , Frank Reich, on an interim basis, Luck hired his QB predecessor at Stanford, Tavita Pritchard, to be the program's full-time head coach this season.
It might take some time to build the Cardinal back up, but Luck is hoping to make Stanford relevant again now that the program has settled into life in the ACC.
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When did Andrew Luck retire from NFL?
Luck announced his retirement from the NFL on Aug. 24, 2019, after word leaked during the Colts ' preseason game.
It was a surreal scene for Luck, who had hoped to keep the news under wraps until the following day but instead was forced to make an early announcement that night. Just 29 at the time, Luck had missed the entire 2017 season due to injury but returned in 2018 to have one of the best seasons of his brief career.
The decision forced Indianapolis to go with Jacoby Brissett as its quarterback for 2019, and Luck's retirement started a quarterback carousel the Colts have struggled to get out of. 2025 marked the eighth consecutive season in which the Colts had a different passing leader, dating back to Luck's final campaign.
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Why did Andrew Luck retire?
Luck cited the mental toll of injury and rehab as the primary reason for his retirement.
"I haven't been able to live the life I want to live. It's taken the joy out of this game," an emotional Luck told reporters. "The only way forward for me is to remove myself from football. This is not an easy decision. It's the hardest decision of my life. But it is the right decision for me."
Luck battled injuries throughout his short career, partly the result of playing behind an often lackluster offensive line. He missed nine games due a shoulder injury in 2015 and didn't play at all in 2017 due to his shoulder.
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What made Luck's retirement so shocking, however, is that the stars seemed to finally align for him in 2018. Luck had perhaps the best offensive line of his career, an offensive-minded head coach and a healthy season in 2018, throwing for 39 touchdowns and nearly 4,600 yards while leading the Colts to the divisional round. A mysterious lower-leg injury kept Luck off the field for most of the summer leading up to the 2019 season, but his announcement blindsided the NFL.
While some held onto hope that Luck might change his mind and end his retirement, there was never any indication he planned to do so. The former No. 1 pick instead completed a master's degree at Stanford and remained on campus to take the reins of the football program in an ever-evolving era of college sports.
Here's more to know about Luck's current role at Stanford.
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Andrew Luck becomes Stanford football GM
Luck was hired to be Stanford's general manager on Nov. 30, 2024, taking over a program that had struggled mightily to start the decade.
"I think Stanford is taking an assertive and innovative step," Luck told ESPN at the time. "We're undoubtedly the best athletic department in college sports. We have to re-prove it in football, and we're excited to be part of that challenge."
Four months later, Luck asserted his power by firing coach Troy Taylor after an investigation into workplace misconduct by Taylor. Luck brought in Frank Reich, who coached him during his final season in Indianapolis, to serve as interim coach, and he hired another familiar face to replace Reich full-time in Tavita Pritchard.
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Luck's job also involves fundraising to help Stanford keep up in the NIL era, and the program announced a $50 million investment from a former player in 2025.
Andrew Luck college stats
| Season |
Comp. rate |
Yards |
TD |
INT |
Rush yards |
Rush TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 |
56.3% |
2,575 |
13 |
4 |
354 |
2 |
| 2010 |
70.7% |
3,338 |
32 |
8 |
453 |
3 |
| 2011 |
71.3% |
3,517 |
37 |
10 |
150 |
2 |
| Career |
67.0% |
9,430 |
82 |
22 |
957 |
7 |
Luck redshirted his freshman season in 2008 but saw plenty of action in 2009 before breaking through as a star in 2010. Luck threw for 3,338 yards and 32 touchdowns as a redshirt sophomore, putting himself in the mix for the No. 1 overall pick, but he opted to return for a fourth season and did nothing to hurt his stock with 39 total touchdowns and more than 3,500 yards through the air.
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How old is Andrew Luck today?
Luck is 36 years old and will turn 37 on Sept. 12. The former No. 1 pick was only 29 when he retired from the NFL.
Andrew Luck career earnings
Luck made $109.1 million in the NFL, certainly enough to live comfortably in retirement but less than many would have expected when he started his career.
Luck agreed to a five-year, $122.97 million extension with the Colts ahead of the 2016 season, but he only played out two years of that deal after it kicked in with the 2017 campaign.
