Former Lions C Frank Ragnow Says Playing Days Are Officially Over

Former Lions C Frank Ragnow came out of retirement in November 2025 but wound up failing his physical the same week and never returned to Detroit. When speaking at a charity event, Ragnow explained that he was trying to will himself to play and that his time in the NFL is officially over. 

“I was trying to will myself to play, and my body was telling me otherwise. I did not plan on retiring in the middle of the summer, believe it or not. I was trying to get like, ‘You can do it, for the guys, for the fans, it’s who you are.’ But, I was uncomfortable,” Ragnow said, via Eric Woodyard. “I made a bonehead decision, and tried to get ready to play and got hurt… Yeah [I’m officially done with the NFL], I’d say so.”

Back in March, it was reported that the Lions made Ragnow repay part of his signing bonus when he retired in June of last year.

Detroit president Rod Wood confirmed they sought a portion of Ragnow’s signing bonus after he retired with two years left on his contract. Wood specifically brought up Barry Sanders, as they made both him and Calvin Johnson repay parts of their bonuses when they retired. 

“Our precedent goes all the way back to Barry Sanders,” Wood said. “And if Barry Sanders paid back money… And I think the reality is, they’re not paying back their money, they’re returning our money. Cause they were paid in advance for services that they hadn’t completed.”

Wood explained why they make players repay parts of their bonuses, which tends to fracture relationships with retired players. 

“You can argue when does that statue of limitations expire, if that’s the right way to put it. Clearly, if we signed, let’s use [Jahmyr] Gibbs. We sign Gibbs to a contract tomorrow and we give him a $20 million signing bonus and he retires on Friday, are we entitled to the $20 million back?”

Ragnow, 30, is a former first-round pick of the Lions back in 2018. He was in the final year of his four-year, $11.7 million contract with the Lions when they picked up his fifth-year option worth $12.657 million guaranteed for the 2022 season.

The Lions then signed Ragnow to a four-year, $52 million extension that made him the NFL’s highest-paid center back in 2021. He was set to make base salaries of $9.15 million and $11.9 million in the final two years of that deal. 

In 2024, Ragnow appeared in 16 games and made 16 starts at center for the Lions. Pro Football Focus had him graded as the No. 2 center out of 40 qualifying players. 

In his career, Ragnow made 96 starts for the Lions at center and was a three-time All-Pro Second-Team selection.