PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WTAJ) – Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has officially announced his retirement after 18 seasons with the team.
Making the announcement in a video shared to Twitter on Thursday morning, Roethlisberger thanked his fans and reminisced on his years of football. He sat alongside his family while announcing his retirement from the National Football League.
“I don’t know how to put into words what the game of football has meant to me, and what a blessing it has been,” Roethlisberger said in the opening of the over-two-minute-long video. “While I know with confidence what I have given my all to the game, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all it has given me.”
Roethlisberger finished his incredible 18-year career, all with the Pittsburgh Steelers, with three visits to the Super Bowl (XL, XLIII, and XLV), with wins against the Seattle Seahawks (XL) and Arizona Cardinals (XLIII).
Big Ben finishes his career with a 165-81-1 (.670) career regular-season record as a starting quarterback. Those 165 wins are the most in Steelers franchise history, and the fifth-most in NFL history.
In his career, Roethlisberger also earned a long resume of accolades, including six Pro Bowl selections (2007, ’11, ’14-17), 18-time AFC Offensive Player of the Week titles, and the Steelers’ 2013 Walter Payton Man of the Year award, to name a few.
As for the Steelers franchise, Roethlisberger sits in first place in 70 different regular-season and post-season franchise records.
