Former New York Jet Al Toon completely understands Calvin Johnson's decision to retire

Jilted fans around the NFL may have a hard time relating to Calvin Johnson in the wake of the Detroit Lions star's decision to retire on Tuesday, but to former New York Jets wide receiver Al Toon, the 30-year-old Johnson's choice to put his health and future first makes perfect sense.

After all, Toon did the same thing when he stepped away from football in 1992 at age 29.

"I had three kids and was happily married and wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing for my family," Toon told FOX Sports in a phone interview. "So the decision wasn't difficult when I had all the information. I just felt blessed to have the opportunity to play the game for as long as I did."

Though expected, Johnson's retirement has still left some perplexed, because, at 30 years old, Johnson is still considered to be one of the league's elite receivers. The Lions' all-time leader in receptions (731), touchdown catches (83) and receiving yards (11,619), Johnson has made each of the last six Pro Bowls and played in all 16 of Detroit's games this season, catching 88 passes for 1,214 yards.

A first-round pick of the Jets in 1985, Toon was never a transcendent star like Johnson, but he spent his entire eight-year career with New York and made three Pro Bowl appearances. In 1988, Toon led the NFL with 93 receptions, and he had 517 career catches for 6,605 yards and 31 touchdowns when he suffered the ninth diagnosed concussion of his career in November 1992.

Toon spent his entire career with the New York Jets.

That final concussion, Toon said at the time, "felt like a cannonball hit me in the back of the head," and after consulting with doctors, he made the decision that it wasn't worth playing another snap, instead choosing to retire with five games left in the '92 season.

"It was about my physical and mental health later on -- not a year from then but decades from the date I retired," the 52-year-old Toon said. "It was more than just focusing on my career. The long-term effects of continuing to play were a significant factor."

And while the choice to retire so early was emotional in the moment -- a teary-eyed Toon admitted during his retirement press conference that he wished he could continue playing -- Toon didn't wrestle with the decision for long once he'd let the game go.

"I was disappointed that I wasn't able to make the decision based on other factors -- primarily just, 'OK, I'm done with this. I've satisfied my need to play and it's time to move on,'" Toon said. "But there was never one moment of regret."

Nor should there be for Johnson, Toon said, especially given the exorbitant contracts NFL players earn today compared to salaries in Toon's era. The highest-paid receiver in football, Johnson stood to make at least another $67 million if he played out the remaining four years on his current contract, but he'd also already earned more than $100 million -- more than enough to take care of his family for generations to come.

"From a financial perspective, if you're responsible, it's a lot easier decision to make," Toon said of Johnson's retirement as it compared to his own. "Clearly the emotional side and self-identity part of it might be a little more difficult when deciding what to do next, but if you've done the right thing from a budgeting and personal finance standpoint, you should be fine."

Now the question is whether other players like Johnson will follow his lead, retiring in their prime in an effort to ensure a higher quality of life after football.

"It's not even just age," Toon said. "Because athletes in whatever sport are starting younger, and now they specialize in a sport -- unlike when I was growing up in high school playing multiple sports. Now they're persuading kids to pick and choose, 'This is what you're going to do,' and they can be doing it 24-7-365 never getting a break from it.

"Then if they're fortunate enough to make it to the top level of their sport," Toon added, "they've already done it a lot longer than maybe we had."

If there's anything to learn from Toon's own retirement, though, it's that Johnson's decision -- and others like it that will surely follow -- won't diminish what he accomplished on the field.

"It was a wonderful experience, and I probably wouldn't change it even if I had the opportunity to," Toon said of his own career. "It opened a lot of doors for me, I learned a lot about who I am and it gave me a leg up financially going forward. So I was extremely blessed, and I'm very appreciative of the opportunity that the Hess family gave me."

You can follow Sam Gardner on Twitter or email him at samgardnerfox@gmail.com.