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On April 19, 2018, ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. has been forced to retire thanks to a promise he made regarding now-retired NFL quarterback Jimmy Clausen.
OK, OK — so this isn’t exactly true at this very moment, since he’s on TV right now. But eight years ago, Kiper did make a retirement promise on-air during an NFL Live segment. It was right before the 2010 NFL Draft, when one of the quarterbacks was former Notre Dame quarterback Clausen, who’d go in the second round to the Carolina Panthers.
During the segment, the analyst said that if Clausen was not a successful quarterback after eight years in the league, Kiper would hang it up and retire.
No really — he actually said this! Let Awful Announcing explain:
“If Jimmy Clausen is not a successful quarterback in the NFL, I’m done. That’s it. I’m out.”
Replied McShay: “What is your time frame, Mel? When do we make that assessment?”
Kiper: “I want eight years.”
McShay: “It will only take three years, Mel. We can tell inside three years.”
Kiper: “I want eight.”
Welp, it’s 2018, and Clausen has been out of the league since 2015, after playing with the Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, and Baltimore Ravens. His final stat line? Just 22 games, throwing for 2,520 yards, along with seven touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
Now obviously, this isn’t the first time draft pundits have been wrong about certain prospects. There are so many variables that can affect a player in the league, so it’s nearly impossible to be 100 percent confident a guy will be a hall of famer.
Still, it’s one of the worst draft takes we’ve heard and it’s pretty funny that Kiper felt so confident that he bet his retirement on it. You just never know sometimes!