At age 27, receiver Percy Harvin is retiring from the NFL

Say this about Percy Harvin's short and controversial NFL career: He'll have one indelible highlight, which we'll see every year at Super Bowl time.

Harvin's kickoff return for a touchdown to open up the second half of Super Bowl XLVIII basically sealed the Seattle Seahawks' only Super Bowl championship. It was the best of Harvin, darting around defenders and outrunning them to the end zone.

There weren't enough highlights like that for the talented Harvin, and especially not in his final two seasons. Injuries and drama were too big of a part of his NFL story, and on Thursday many media outlets reported that Harvin has decided to retire at age 27.

Harvin's career was never the same after a huge 2013 trade sent him to the Seattle Seahawks, and the big contract extension from the team that followed. The Vikings got a first-, third- and seventh-round pick for Harvin, who got a six-year, $67 million deal from Seattle. It turned out to be one of the worst trades and contracts in NFL history. Harvin played one regular-season game in 2013 due to injuries. He played five games for Seattle in 2014 before he was abruptly traded to the New York Jets during the season, amid reports that he had fought with multiple teammates. He had that great Super Bowl, and that will be a big part of his NFL legacy. Harvin had a quiet rest of the 2014 season with the Jets, played in just five games with the Buffalo Bills last season, then he waffled this offseason on whether to play or not. Reports said his hip was still bothering him. He ultimately decided to retire, though with Harvin one can never be too sure.

The former first-round pick finishes with 32 regular-season touchdowns, 29 of which came in his first four seasons with the Vikings. It seemed like there should have been more highlights for Harvin, but he does have the one from the Super Bowl to remember.