As a player, Tim McDonald felt he gave body and soul to be part of a winning San Francisco 49ers team. Faced with the prospect of playing for another team this season, McDonald decided Monday that he had no more to give.

"I don't have the energy to give to anyone else wholeheartedly," said McDonald, who retired officially as a 49ers at the age of 35. "I gave so much to the 49ers. I couldn't do that for someone else."

	Tim McDonald's loyalty to the 49ers ended Monday. The safety retired after six seasons with the club, 12 in the league.

For months, McDonald reviewed his options with retiring teammate Steve Young. They talked about preaching the 49ers' way to young players who are part of a team in transition. While some people in the organization wanted both players back, they knew that those options weren't going to be there.

In McDonald's mind, it was better to be a retired 49ers than try to learn a new way with another team, even a club such as the Carolina Panthers, which is run by his former head coach George Seifert.

"To be a 49ers and not be successful was something that would be very hard to deal with," McDonald said. "I've always been a big Ronnie Lott fan, and watching Ronnie bounce from team to team was something I didn't like to see."

McDonald appreciated being a winning 49er more than most. He spent six unfulfilled years on sub-par Cardinals teams. He joined the NFLPA's class action suit against the NFL to gain his free agency and eventually won.

	“	To be a 49ers and not be successful was something that would be very hard to deal with. I've always been a big Ronnie Lott fan, and watching Ronnie bounce from team to team was something I didn't like to see. ”
		— Tim McDonald, 49ers safety

In 1993, after three Pro Bowl seasons, he signed with the 49ers and enjoyed playoffs and Super Bowls.

"With the Cardinals, the goal was to get to .500, which was nightmarish," McDonald said. "With the 49ers, it was win a championship or bust. The best thing that happened to me was getting involved in the lawsuit, being named a plaintiff."

Still, he knew that the collective bargaining agreement negotiated from the settlement of the lawsuit would some day get back at him. With a salary cap, he knew older players would have a harder time making the money that is earmarked for younger players who are potential free agents.

This offseason, it limited him to chances to study deals close to the NFL veteran minimum of $440,000 instead of the multi-million dollar contracts he had grown accustomed to.

"At what stage does it come to get you?" McDonald said. "If it comes to get you after winning Super Bowls and making $20 million, fine. Would you want that or would you have the old way of being stuck in Pheonix wearing a uniform in which you don't have a chance to win a championship?"

McDonald earned six trips to the Pro Bowl from his hard-hitting and heady play. Plus, he was a leader. He plans to retire to run his restaurant in Fresno, Calif., The World's Sports Café. Eventually, he'd like to get back to football as a coach or in some capacity, but those thoughts won't be until after this season.

"This year I want to get away and travel," McDonald said. "For the first time, I will get to spend the fall with my wife and family."