Starting guard Steve Elmer quits football to pursue professional career
‘What I do love, and where my heart will always be, is the University of Notre Dame’
Today, Steve Elmer, starting right guard for the Fighting Irish, announced his decision to forgo his final season of athletic eligibility at Notre Dame.
He is also declining to pursue an NFL career in favor of beginning his professional career working in the Washington, DC area.
Steve will graduate early with an Economics degree from the College of Arts and Letters.
In a letter to the Notre Dame community, Steve wrote:
Let’s get the hard part out of the way first: I am writing to inform you that I have decided to forgo my final season of athletic eligibility at the University of Notre Dame, and I have no interest in pursuing a spot on an NFL roster.
While playing football for Notre Dame has been nothing short of an honor, I have been presented with an incredible opportunity to pursue a career doing something in which I have great interest, and at a great company to boot. The experience of balancing Notre Dame’s academic rigors with my football commitments has given me a great foundation for my next endeavor. I will graduate from Notre Dame this May and start my professional journey this summer in the Washington, DC area.
No matter how excited I am about what the future has in store for me, the question that inevitably comes up is: why don’t you just wait until next year? My answer is pretty simple; the excitement I feel about the professional opportunity in front of me has helped me to realize that I’m just ready to be done with football. I’ve been playing this game for many years, and quite honestly my heart is no longer in it. I realize that this may be considered sacrilege to some, but it’s truth. What I do love, and where my heart will always be, is the University of Notre Dame.
I’d like to thank Coach Kelly, his current and former staff, and my teammates for making this truly the experience of a lifetime. I’d also like to thank my family for its incredible and continued support, as well as the Irish fan base for making my time here truly special. It takes a village, and I sure am thankful for mine.
Sincerely,
Steve Elmer ’16