Wide receiver Cole Beasley has decided to retire from the NFL after 11 seasons, his agent said Wednesday. Check out his career earnings.
Cole Beasley : Retires | is retiring | Career earnings
Beasley accepted a scholarship from Southern Methodist University, where he was converted into a wide receiver, playing in 11 games with seven starts as a freshman, while finishing third on the team with 42 receptions for 366 yards and three touchdowns.
As a sophomore, Beasley started seven games, making 40 receptions (fourth on the team) for 493 yards and three touchdowns. SMU would win the 2009 Hawaii Bowl marking their first bowl invitation since the so-called death penalty.
As a junior, Beasley posted 87 receptions (second for a single-season in school history), 1,060 yards and six touchdowns.
As a senior, Beasley registered 86 receptions for 1,040 yards (second on the team) and two touchdowns.
Cole Beasley retires
Wide receiver Cole Beasley retires from the NFL after 11 seasons, his agent said Wednesday.
“He is ready to be with his family after playing 11 seasons and it’s time to be a full-time dad and husband,” agent Joel Turner told ESPN.
“His wife and kids are still back home in Texas. They came out for the first game, went through the evacuation last week which the Tampa Bay organization hasn’t received near the credit they deserve for the way they handled [Hurricane Ian] — nothing but first class by the Glazer family, [general manager] Jason [Licht] and [coach] Todd [Bowles]. He doesn’t want to be separated from them anymore. He loves his wife and kids and wants to be with them.”
Beasley, 33, signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ practice squad on Sept. 20, and was called up to the active roster four days later. He saw action in two games — against the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs — with four catches for 17 receiving yards.
Beasley said upon signing with the Bucs that he didn’t know if he’d ever get another opportunity to play again.
The Buffalo Bills had granted Beasley permission to seek a trade in early March but ultimately released him.
Beasley finished with a career-best 82 receptions in both the 2020 and ’21 seasons with the Bills, whom he signed with as a free agent in 2019.
However, he was fined multiple times for violating the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols last season and was a critic of the league’s COVID-19 policies, which have been relaxed this season. Beasley, who is unvaccinated against COVID-19, missed a game last season after testing positive for the virus.
Cole Beasley is retiring
The 33-year-old Buccaneers wide receiver has decided to retire after 11 NFL seasons, NFL Network Insiders Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero reported on Wednesday.
Prior to signing with Tampa Bay, Beasley had not been with a team since being released by the Buffalo Bills in March after spending the past three seasons with the organization.
Beasley, who remained unvaccinated against COVID-19 during a season in which the vaccine was a hotly debated topic, was fined roughly $100,000 for repeatedly violating COVID-19 protocols during the 2021 season, according to ESPN.
In his 11 seasons, Beasley had 554 catches for 5,726 yards and 24 touchdowns.
“For a young man that came out of SMU that not one all-star game invited to play in, who prepared for his pro day working out by himself on campus and who 31 other teams in the NFL passed on as an undrafted free agent with only the Dallas Cowboys offering him a contract — he has had an incredible career,” Beasley’s agent said to ESPN.
“We could not be prouder of him in every facet and appreciate each organization that he played for and allowed him to live the American dream. Cole always gave it his all.”
Career earnings
Cole Beasley signed a four year $29 million contract with the Bills on March 14, 2019. Beasley received $14.4 million in injury guarantees with $10.7 million of that being fully guaranteed.
Beasley received a $6 million signing bonus and has a guaranteed roster bonus and base salary in 2019.
If on the roster on the fifth day of the 2020 league year, $3.7 million of his base salary will become fully guaranteed and he will earn a $500,000 roster bonus. There are annual per game bonuses of $500,000.
Soon his impressive gameplay offered him the contract from the Dallas Cowboys, despite going undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft. And on April 29, 2012, Beasley signed his first professional contract worth $1.44 million over 3 years with Cowboys.
For the 2018 season, Beasley’s annual salary is reported to be $3.25 million while carrying the cap hit and dead cap value of $4.5 million and $5.5 million.
Well, 28-year-old Beasley has played for the only team Dallas Cowboys so far, after being signed by the Cowboys in 2012. The Jersey number 11 footballer is estimated to be enjoying the net worth of $13 million.