Veteran Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger announced his yearlong anticipated retirement from the NFL on Thursday morning.
Ben Roethlisberger was the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers for eighteen years. His totemic career was brought to an end by the recent Wild Card loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Ben Roethlisberger was drafted 11th overall by Pittsburgh in 2004. He took over the starting role due to a Tommy Maddox injury in Week 2 of his rookie season and never looked back.
That year, he led the Steelers to a 15-1 regular season before an AFC title game defeat to the New England Patriots.
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It only took another season for Big Ben to win the Super Bowl against the Seahawks. Three years later, he won Super Bowl XLIII against the Arizona Cardinals.
Roethlisberger’s 165 regular season wins are a franchise record and the 5th most in NFL history. His .670 regular season winning percentage is the second highest in Steelers history and the 6th highest in NFL history.
“The journey has been exhilarating, fueled by a spirit of competition,” Roethlisberger said. “Yet the time has come to clean out my locker, hang up my cleats and continue to be all I can be to my wife and children. I retire from football a truly grateful man.”
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“I am excited, just because I get to go home,” Roethlisberger said about the next phase of his life after losing to the Chiefs in the playoffs. “… We’ve got snow, so the kids are already planning tubing and doing sledding and stuff. So, being a husband and father, you never take a day off. You’ve got to keep going, and so, as we move from one chapter to the next, it’s going to be different, but it’s going to be fun, it’s going to be a challenge and I’m looking forward to it.”
