Elvis Dumervil's 12-year NFL career has come to an end. The five-time Pro Bowler announced his retirement Thursday
In March, the San Francisco 49ers chose not to pick up his 2018 option, which would have paid him $2.75 million (per Spotrac).
A two-time first-team All-Pro, Dumervil walks away from professional football with 105.5 career sacks, which put him fourth among active players, per Pro Football Reference. He led the 49ers with 6.5 sacks last season.
A fourth-round draft pick by the Denver Broncos in 2006, Dumervil emerged as one of the NFL's premier pass-rushers for more than a decade. He made an instant impression with 8.5 sacks in 13 games as a rookie and led the NFL with 17 sacks in 2009.
"After spending a great deal of time talking to my family and prayerfully considering what's next in my career, I have made the difficult decision to step away from the NFL at this time," Dumervil, 34, said in his post. "It's been an incredible 12-year run."
Last season, the 5-foot-11 Dumervil became the 32nd player to reach the 100-sack milestone since sacks became an official statistic in 1982 and the first player under 6-1 to do so. He also joined John Abraham as the only players to record at least a half-sack against all 32 NFL teams.
"My body still feels great," Dumervil wrote in his Twitter post, "and I know I can still help a team win. I will miss being on the field, particularly on Sundays. But I also have a wife and two young children who need me and a real estate business that I can now turn my attention to full time.
"Football was certainly a huge part of my life but it wasn't my entire life. I look forward to my next chapter with no regrets."
