Myles Garrett’s retirement plan revealed as $160m game-wrecker has fresh NFL record in sight

Myles Garrett is at the top of his game.

The Cleveland Browns game-wrecker was named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year last season, and set the league’s single-season sack record to boot.

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In the fourth quarter of Cleveland’s finale against the Cincinnati Bengals, Garrett burst through the offensive line to put Joe Burrow on his back.

That moment marked his 23rd sack of the season, and put him ahead of the previous record of 22.5 sacks that was set by Michael Strahan in 2001 and matched by Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt two decades later.

Regardless of what happens from here on out, Garrett will go down in the NFL history books.

At the age of 30, he still has time left at the top level, and 12 months ago committed his future to the Browns by signing a four-year, $160 million extension that should keep him with the team through the 2030 season.

But it’s never too early to think about life after football, and it seems the NFL’s top pass rusher has a plan.

What does Myles Garrett want to do in retirement?

Back in 2017, Garrett was coming out of college, having established himself as the top NFL Draft prospect.

At Texas A&M, he totaled 32½ sacks, 48½ tackles for loss and seven forced fumbles in three seasons.

Football, of course, was the main priority for a freakish athlete who was destined to land with the Browns as the No. 1 overall pick.

He has been in Cleveland ever since, but admitted nine years ago that he also had dreams of being a paleontologist, or a poet.

“I don’t think I’m the smartest player in the draft,” Garrett told ESPN’s Sam Alipour in 2017.

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“But if you consider all the things I think about daily, how many things intrigue me and I try to get involved in, I’m up there.”

When asked what was going through his head, just months before that year’s draft, a 21-year-old Garrett added: “I didn’t know how this would play out when I was a kid.

“I knew I wanted to play ball, be a paleontologist and write poetry.

“I thought, ‘Heck, where will I find the time? Well, football comes first, and I’ll just find some time for poetry, and paleontology can come at the end.’

“I made this plan at 14, and dang, it’s all coming together. The day I’ve been dreaming of is tomorrow. Now I have to face it. I’ll either attack it and win or get swallowed by it.”

Football, indeed, worked out very well for Garrett.

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While Super Bowl glory has eluded the Browns, on an individual level, their defensive end now boasts an NFL record of his own, as well as two Defensive Player of the Year awards (2023 and 2025) and seven Pro Bowl appearances.

If everything remains on course, Garrett will retire with at least $329 million in the bank thanks to his lucrative contract extension, and that kind of money will allow him to chase his paleontology and poetry dreams down the line.

How long will Myles Garrett play in the NFL?

Fresh off setting the single-season sack record in 2025, Cleveland’s star has revealed he is targeting more history.

In an interview with DJ Siddiqi of Casino Guru News, he revealed he wants to break the all-time sack record of 200, held by Buffalo Bills Hall of Famer Bruce Smith.

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Garrett, who supported girlfriend Chloe Kim at the 2026 Winter Olympics, currently has 125.5 to his name.

“I’m going to take that down, and prefer that I take it down here in the next five years,” he told Casino Guru News last month.

“That is definitely on my mind to go out there and get. That’s a goal I’ve had for years now since college.”

Garrett wants to snatch that record in the next five years, as he doesn’t envisage playing late into his 30s, like idol Reggie White did.

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“Hell no,” he said, when asked of that possibility.

“Ain’t no way.”

Browns fans, then, might only have a few more years left of Garrett. But down the line, they might get to share in his poetry or paleontology passions.

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