Former South Carolina great Elliott Fry announces NFL retirement
Former South Carolina football great Elliott Fry has announced his retirement from the NFL. On Tuesday, the kicker took to social media to share the news with a heartfelt message.
“Six years ago I decided to give professional football another shot,” Fry shared in a post on his personal Instagram page. “I started in a spring league that went bankrupt and ended up with 11 different NFL teams over five seasons. My NFL career didn’t turn out the way I had hoped. The past six years have been tough.
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“There were a lot of great moments, but there was also a lot of uncertainty and heartbreak. Looking back on this journey, I’m certain of two things:
- I gave it everything I had and am confident that I couldn’t have worked any harder.
- It was never lost on me how lucky I was to be in it.
Two years after finishing his career at South Carolina, Fry signed with the Orlando Apollos of the Alliance of American Football. Despite operations for the league being suspended midway through the year, Fry went 14-for-14 on kicks in eight weeks of action. His play earned him an invitation to kick for the Chicago Bears in preseason. Being signed and waived by several NFL teams from 2019-2023, in addition to the Bears Fry had stints with the Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons, Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers, Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, Arizona Cardinals, and Denver Broncos.
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“Every single time I walked into a new locker room or stepped out on a field, it never felt ordinary or commonplace. I was always filled with gratitude and I always felt that I was incredibly lucky to be able to play the game that I love.”
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While only attempting six field goals in his NFL career, Fry converted on five of them. His career long of 44 yards came in 2021 as a member of the Chiefs.
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“I’m deciding to retire and move on to the next stage of my life and wherever that may take me. Thank you to all who have supported me through this journey, especially my wife Bailey Fry who was with me through it all.”
A former walk-on kicker at South Carolina, Fry left the Gamecocks after the 2016 season as the then program’s all-time leading scorer with 359 points.
