No, I don't think they do. So much of what they make can have their income tax rate reduced depending on where they live, not where they work. While there are four states with NFL teams that have no income tax, there are four teams that have a higher state income tax than the Jets and Giants. Things like signing bonuses can be structured to be recorded at the player's residence, not workplace. I'm sure every team and every agent are aware of these things. For a guy making ten million they just need to move a million into a signing bonus to negate almost all the difference between teams. Here's an article from 2013 that has the basic information - I doubt if it has changed much except possibly the loopholes have expanded. NFL Players Can Save A Fortune With Tax Decisions (forbes.com) I expect that places like Texas, Florida, Nevada and even Tennessee are home to many more players than those who play there. Wyoming and South Dakota, not so much.
I just looked up his career earnings which appear to be a tad over $125m. So yeah, my guess why he wouldn't be playing would probably start there. His last 3 years were filled with a lot of non-fun uphill battles just trying to stay on the field. At some point the what little juice is left stops being worth the squeeze for some guys. Especially when you are staring down a pretty notable pay cut.
