Linebacker Shaquil Barrett announced his retirement on social media Saturday, four months after joining the Miami Dolphins in free agency but just days before the team’s training camp.

“It’s time for me to hang it up,” Barrett said in an Instagram post. “It’s been a great ride and I appreciate everything that came with it over the years. I’m ready to shift my full focus to my wife and kids and helping with realize their dreams and catch em.”

He acknowledged in the post the retirement may seem like a surprise to some, but said he’s “been thinking about this for a while and the decision has never been more clear then it is now.”

Barrett’s abrupt announcement concludes a 10-year career that spanned stints with the Denver Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He won Super Bowl titles with each franchise.

The 31-year-old entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Colorado State, signing with the Broncos in 2014 but not appearing in any games his rookie season. He made the Broncos roster in 2015 after tallying the most preseason sacks in the league, and played a key rotational role in the team’s Super Bowl run, starting six games.

Barrett remained a rotational linebacker in Denver until he left for Tampa Bay in 2019. There, he blossomed in a historic…

NFL team owners collect millions in revenue. They wield outsized power over their organizations and in their communities. They point to the bottom line, wins and losses, when firing coaches and executives, sometimes without giving them much time. But their own won-lost records appear nowhere.

Even people who follow the NFL closely might not know whether Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross owns a better record than New York Giants owner John Mara (he does).

They might not know whether female owners account for two of the five highest winning percentages since taking over their teams (they do).

They might not know that the only team without a traditional owner could lose 200 games overnight without dipping below .500 (the Green Bay Packers could).

They might not know that five of the last six owners to buy (rather than inherit) a team make up the bottom five in win percentage (they do — the lone exception is the Buffalo Bills’ Terry Pegula).

Some of these ownership situations are difficult to evaluate for reasons such as owners allowing their offspring to operate their teams. I’ve used simple criteria in ranking owners from worst to best win rates below. For our purposes, wins and losses are counted for owners after the NFL has approved their purchases; after an owner…

Former NFL linebacker Bill Romanowski, who won a combined four Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos, owes more than $15 million in back taxes and penalties, the United States alleged in district court in California this week.

In its 18-page complaint, the Department of Justice said Romanowski and his wife, Julie Romanowski, have not paid prior tax deficiencies dating back to the 1998 tax year, which they were originally ordered by two tax courts to pay in 2013.

The unpaid taxes, statutory penalties and interest owed over eight years from 1998 to 2007 now total $15.33 million, the lawsuit brought by the U.S. alleges.

“Despite timely notice and demand for payment, the Romanowskis have neglected, refused or failed to pay the assessments against them,” the complaint says.

The complaint also alleges that the Romanowskis used funds from their nutrition business, N53, to pay personal living expenses. The document alleges the couple used corporate funds to pay for rent; appointments at nail, hair and spa salons; plastic surgery and chiropractic appointments; pet food; and groceries.

The U.S. in its filing asked the court to determine that N53 is the “alter ego” of the couple “because it has ceased to have, or never had, a separate existence from the…