Marshawn Lynch, the iconoclast running back for the Seattle Seahawks, tweeted an oblique retirement notice during the Super Bowl last Sunday and this week Call of Duty Black Ops 3 rolled out an update in his honor.
Lynch starred in Black Ops 3's singleplayer campaign, and the California-Berkeley alumnus also did promotional work for the game prior to its November 2015 launch. But his exit from professional football was unexpected (even if it was completely in character). In the update to Black Ops 3's Combine map, textures that had a "1A" notation next to doors are now remade to say "24," Lynch's number on the Seahawks.
Though Lynch played four seasons in Buffalo at the beginning of his NFL career, twice rushing for more than 1,000 yards in a season, he burst on the scene with his "Hold My Dick" touchdown run (as called by YouTuber Demetry James) against New Orleans in the 2011 playoffs.
Lynch, a professed Call of Duty fan, appeared in the game as a character in the campaign mode, and promoted it for ESPN the Magazine's esports edition over the summer.
Over a nine-year professional career, Lynch, from Oakland, Calif. rushed for more than 9,000 yards, scored 85 touchdowns, and was an integral part of a Seattle team that went to two straight Super Bowls, winning it all in 2014. He was well liked by fans for a punishing, physical running style and his open disdain for the extracurricular obligations of a sports superstar, preferring to remain "all about that action" on the field, in his words.
It is believed Lynch put every cent of his nearly $50 million in career NFL earnings into a bank account, instead living off endorsement income — including Call of Duty's — over the past decade.