According to Sky Sports on Tuesday, Seattle Seahawks guard Mike Iupati of Vaitogi, American Samoa, announced his retirement at the age of 33. Iupati, who played his college football at the University of Idaho, has played the last 11 seasons in the National Football League, and the last two seasons in Seattle, in 2019 and 2020.
The fact that Iupati chose the NFL over rugby is an interesting one. That is because American Samoa has a rich rugby background.
In addition to his two seasons in Seattle as a guard, Iupati played five seasons with the San Francisco 49ers from 2010 to 2014, and four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals from 2015 to 2018. In that time, Iupati was selected to four straight Pro Bowls from 2012 to 2015 (2012 to 2014 with San Francisco, and 2015 with Arizona). Also in 2014 with San Francisco, Iupati was a first team All-Pro.
Six years ago, Iupati caught his first and only career National Football League pass. It was a 10-yard catch from quarterback Carson Palmer of Fresno, California, in a 23-20 Cardinals win over the Minnesota Vikings on December 10, 2015.
On the defensive side, Iupati had one solo defensive tackle and one fumble recovery. The defensive tackle came when Iupati was with the 49ers in a 23-14 San Francisco loss to the Arizona Cardinals on September 21, 2014. The fumble recovery came with the Cardinals in 2016.
Injuries however were a serious issue for Iupati in the later stages of his NFL career, despite signing a five-year contract worth $40 million on March 10, 2015. He had a neck injury with the Cardinals in 2015, a triceps injury with the Cardinals in 2017, and a back and medial collateral ligament injury with the Cardinals in 2018. Iupati’s neck problem continued while with the Seahawks over the last two NFL seasons.
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