Kurt Warner has called an end to his storybook career in the NFL. The 38-year-old quarterback, who went from a supermarket grocery bagger to a winning Super Bowl QB, announced his retirement from the game on Friday.

Kurt Warner’s NFL story has all the hallmarks of a great “root for the underdog” movie. Kurt went from being a grocery store clerk to overcoming early NFL rejection to 12 good years of NFL to leading the lowly St. Louis Rams to two Super Bowls, winning the first of them to walking away from the game a winner after again, being written - this time as a has-been .

Warner, a man of deep faith who carried a Bible to each post-game news conference, walked away with a year left on a two-year, US$23 million contract.

“It’s been an amazing ride,” he said. “I don’t think I could have dreamt it would have played out like it has, but I’ve been humbled every day that I woke up the last 12 years and amazed that God would choose to use me to do what he’s given me the opportunity to do.”

Warner brought all seven children and his wife up to the podium. He choked up as he thanked them.

“Every day I come home and it doesn’t matter if you won or lost or have thrown touchdowns or interceptions, the one thing that I always knew is that when I entered that door, when I stepped in our house, that none of that mattered to these guys,” he said. “I can’t tell you how much of a blessing that is.”

Just two weeks prior to his announcement, Warner had one of the greatest post-season QB performances in Arizona’s 51-45 overtime wild card victory over Green Bay on Jan. 10. But he took a brutal hit in the Cardinals’ 45-14 divisional round loss at New Orleans six days later.

The Cards signed Warner to a one-year contract in 2005 largely because no other team would give him a chance to be a starter. His opportunities over the next two years were scattered and even when coach Ken Whisenhunt took over in 2007, Warner was the backup to Matt Leinart.

When Leinart went down with an injury five games into the season, Warner got his chance. He started 48 of the remaining 49 games of his career.

Warner leaves the game with a legacy that could land him in the Hall of Fame even though he didn’t get his first start until he was 28.

In a comparison with the 14 quarterbacks to make the Hall of Fame in the last 25 years, Warner has a better career completion percentage, yards per pass attempt and yards per game. Only Dan Marino had more career 300-yard passing games.

In 124 regular-season games, Warner completed 65.5% of his passes for 32,344 yards and 208 touchdowns.

Warner may have ended his NFL career a year or two early, but he went out on his own terms - and he went out a winner!

source: espn.com, nfl.com, wikipedia.com