It doesn’t have to be one reason or the other. It could have been a combination of factors that “pushed” Payton to retire so to speak. Burn out, weariness from being screwed over by the league, not having Brees, not enough belief in his QBs, stress in dealing with Kamara’s legal issues and the doubts about Thomas’s return and the overall quality of the offense talent in general coupled with other things could have all been building up
in him. Then, along comes this Miami tampering/offer to Payton. Seems ignorant to deny that this outside influence COULD have played a factor and been the straw that broke the camel’s back.