At the end of every NFL season, it seems like most teams have at least one player who’s facing the end of his career. The story goes something like this, “After fourteen seasons, it looks like this will probably be the last time he plays in front of the city that loves him. He turns 38 this off-season and it looks like he’ll be facing the tough decision of hanging up his cleats for the last time.”

So… is this “too old” story really about a player’s age? Or, is that just a nice way of saying he’s no longer the player that he used to be?

In the NFL, the truth is that it’s not really about a player’s age. Sure, I guess age matters. But the real reason an aging all-star in the NFL gets benched or faces retirement is about performance, not age. Top-notch performance is what got each player into the league, and it’s also what keeps them on the field year after year. Unfortunately, it’s the lack of performance that will “force” the same players out of the league.

Pro football tends to be a young person’s game, and so is dairy labor. No, that doesn’t mean that “old people” can’t do it. But when it comes to a physically demanding profession, the truth is that young bodies tend to perform and recover a lot better than old ones. But, I’ll say it again, age isn’t the reason why one person succeeds and another one doesn’t. Almost always, the deciding factor is typically performance.

Sure, age discrimination in the workplace exists. And yes, “advanced age” might be the reason why someone on your team is no longer as productive as he used to be. But his age isn’t the real reason you need to replace him. His diminishing performance is.

It’s no surprise that employees tend to get upset and defensive when they think that they or someone in their family is being singled out for “being old”. Unfortunately, they often tend to ignore the fact that every time this “older” employee works, the shift falls behind and/or certain jobs don’t get done. Ironically, this sympathy and tolerance for sub-par performance often disappears when there’s no “family loyalty” motive involved.

But when it’s “someone else” who’s not getting their work done or is the reason the next shift falls behind, everyone tends to notice (and complain) that someone is under-performing. So why is that significant? You see, your employees do notice when a co-worker isn’t performing. In the end, your employees know that performance matters, and so do you.

The next time you’re faced with “keeping” or “cutting” one of your “older” employees, treat them with the same respect that you show your younger employees. Be fair to everyone on your team, including yourself. Expect the same top-notch performance from all of your employees, regardless of their age. And whatever you do, don’t mention age as the reason someone needs to move on. Not only is that illegal, it’s also not the real reason.