July 26 (Bloomberg) -- Curtis Martin, the fourth-leading rusher in National Football League history, announced his retirement today and said he's interested in owning an NFL team.

Knee problems have prevented Martin, 34, from appearing in an NFL game since Dec. 4, 2005. He missed the final four games of the 2005 season following surgery on his right knee and sat out the 2006 campaign because of a degenerative ``bone on bone'' condition in the knee.

Martin's retirement, which the Jets disclosed in a news release, comes as the team opened training camp today in Hempstead, New York. In televised interviews with CBS and ESPN, Martin said he hopes to stay in the NFL as a team owner.

``I've always seen my (playing) career as basic training, as a chance to learn what I really wanted to do within the NFL, which is own a football team,'' Martin told ESPN. ``That's what I've been working on for a long time and that's what it looks like is going to happen for me in the future.''

Martin declined to disclose specifics about his ownership quest.

``Curtis Martin represents everything an NFL player should be,'' NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. ``His on-field accomplishments were matched by an equally strong commitment to serving his community and being a positive role model off the field. We know that Curtis will continue to be successful and represent the NFL well as he moves into his next career.''

New Backfield

Martin said last year that his playing days might be over, and the Jets acquired running back Thomas Jones, who's rushed for more than 1,200 yards in each of the past two seasons, from the Chicago Bears in March.

The Jets said Martin would be honored in a ceremony before the start of the regular season.

The 5-foot-11, 210-pound Martin ran for 14,101 yards in 11 NFL seasons, trailing only Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton and Barry Sanders in career rushing yardage.

The five-time Pro Bowl selection is the Jets' all-time leader with 10,302 yards, and he won the NFL's rushing title in 2004 with 1,697 yards. That year, he also joined Sanders as the only players to rush for more than 1,000 yards in each of their first 10 NFL seasons.

In 2005, Martin had 735 rushing yards in 12 games before knee surgery. He was on the physically unable to perform list last season, when the Jets used Leon Washington, Cedric Houston, Kevan Barlow and Derrick Blaylock at running back.

Jets' Ranking

New York ranked 30th out of 32 NFL teams last year with an average of 3.5 yards per rush.

Martin played eight seasons with the Jets after spending his first three years with the New England Patriots. A third- round pick in the 1995 draft, Martin rushed for 1,487 yards and 14 touchdowns in his first season, the best rookie performance by a running back since Eric Dickerson in 1983.

``The ability to play at such a consistently high level every week he took the field will be the enduring football legacy of Curtis Martin,'' Jets General Manager Mike Tannenbaum said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 26, 2007 12:36 EDT