"It's D-Day - Decision Day - in the Valley, as Cardinals fans hold their collective breath waiting for Kurt Warner to announce his plans for the future Friday afternoon.

Is he coming back for one last Super Bowl run with the Cardinals? Or leaving a Hall of Fame career on his own terms?

Much of the speculation centers around the latter, simply because Warner is having a press conference. Last year, when he also entertained thoughts of retirement, he decided to come back by simply informing the team.

He was a free agent at the time, so things were different. But, still, you get the feeling that this is the end of the line for Warner. Only Warner knows for sure; the rest of us will find out at 1 p.m.

If Warner is indeed saying goodbye, good for him. Not many athletes can step away from the game when they're still at their peak. Heck, most can't step away even long after that.

But football doesn't define Warner, like sports do for so many athletes. Nor does money (he would be turning his back on $11.5 million in salary next season).

"I don't want to come back just to get the paycheck or just because I've signed that contract if I can't do everything that I would want to do or if I'm not willing to do everything that I've done in the past," Warner said one day after the Cardinals were eliminated from the playoffs with a 45-14 loss to the Saints. "That's the bottom line."

Warner still loves the game, but football will miss Warner a lot more than he will miss the game. He's got too many other things in life that he wants to do. He and his wife, Brenda, have seven children. The couple operate the First Things First Christian charitable foundation. Last year, he was named the NFL's Man of the Year for his off-the-field and on-field accomplishments.

Warner, at age 38, is a dinosaur in NFL terms. But in the real world, he's got more than half his life ahead of him.

And Warner no doubt wants to be able to walk away from the game (with an emphasis on the word "walk"). Football takes an enormous toll on one's body, and the repercussions are felt decades down the line. Warner has suffered at least three concussions, including one this season, and took a huge hit in that game against the Saints.

That's tough to shake from the memory banks. There's also the image of teammate Anquan Boldin, who suffered a broken jaw on a vicious hit last season that shook Warner deeply, giving him enough pause that he considered retirement then and there.

If Warner does retire, it will end one of the greatest stories in the NFL. His well-chronicled path began in the Arena Football League and NFL Europe and included a stint bagging groceries. And it ends with two MVPs and three trips to the Super Bowl - two with the Rams, where he engineered the "Greatest Show on Turf," and another improbable run with the Cardinals."