Dan Patrick’s retirement is currently scheduled for early 2028, following Super Bowl LXII in Atlanta. It has been nearly three years since Patrick began what has been called the longest retirement tour in sports radio history. Patrick’s driving force behind this decision is his desire to retire while he’s still at the top of his game.
The Love of the Grind
Nick Wright recently spoke with Patrick about LeBron James’ love of the process. James said he will know when it’s time to retire when he no longer loves showing up early. Wright then asked Patrick if he has held onto his radio show for so long because he loves that process more than any other media job he’s had.
“I like the grind. I like the daily,” Patrick admitted. He added, “I come in on Saturday and Sunday when we’re not even on the air. I like starting something, ‘What are we going to do with it? Who are we going to have on? What are the topics?’ And then you go home, and then you start thinking about it again. That every day is what always attracted me.”
Patrick noted that he would never be able to serve as a seasonal broadcaster. This means that when his current contract is up in early 2028, Patrick won’t accept a part-time deal. If he’s going to have a show, it needs to be every single day.
Fear of Fading
“My biggest fear is to not be great at the very end,” Patrick said. He wants to retire before he falls out of love with the daily grind.
Patrick added, “If anything, we’re more aggressive with these last two years than I’ve ever been with this show of what we’re doing, where we’re going, and I said I want to go out that way. I want to make sure that nobody thinks you’re just kind of showing up. That would be the ultimate criticism. That it doesn’t feel like you care as much.
“I probably care more and more. If it doesn’t show on me, then it doesn’t trickle down to The Danettes, where they need to know I’m excited. They need to know I’m happy about something, aggressive. I told them, the last two years, ‘It must be fun.’ We must have fun. That’s all I ask them to do.”
The Retirement Challenge
Patrick knows he’s going to retire after Super Bowl LXII in early 2028. The challenge will be convincing himself that it’s time to retire when he retires. Because for Patrick to retire while he’s still great, he needs to do it before he’s actually ready to stop the grind of a daily radio show.
He’s not going to get much outside help, because his listeners will still be rooting for Patrick to break his vow to retire.