Steve Smith makes his NFL retirement official in the coolest way possible

Former Carolina Panthers and Baltimore Ravens receiver Steve Smith sent his retirement letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell earlier this week.

It was short, but very sweet:

“This is to notify you that as of today I, Steve Smith Sr., will no longer be antagonizing defensive backs,” he wrote. “I am retiring from the National Football League.”

And that was it. Of course, it could have been even shorter — the second of the two sentences is really the only one that’s necessary. But, really, that letter is pretty much perfect the way it is.

Smith played the first 13 years of his career with the Panthers before spending the last three with the Ravens. He had originally planned to retire after last season but decided to come back after missing the last nine games of 2015 with a torn Achilles tendon.

The five-time Pro Bowler is fifth all-time with 14,731 yards receiving, 12th all-time with 1,031 receptions and seventh all-time with 19,180 all-purpose yards.

charles.schilken@latimes.com

Twitter: @chewkiii