Ben Roethlisberger Announces His Retirement

Longtime Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (pictured above) announced his retirement from the National Football League via his Twitter account on Thursday morning:

"Big Ben", as he was known throughout his career due to his 6-5, 250 lb. frame, retires after 18 seasons in Pittsburgh.  He led the Steelers to a pair of Super Bowl titles in 2005 (winning 20-10 over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL in Detroit) and 2008 (winning 28-24 over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa), as well as another appearance after the 2010 season (Lost to the Green Bay Packers 31-25 in Super Bowl XLIII in Dallas).

He leaves as the team's all-time passing leader in yards, touchdowns, attempts, completions, and completion percentage.  Ben threw for 4,000 yards 6 times in his career.  He threw for 3,000 yards in an incredible 15 seasons of his 18-year career.  And in 2018, he led the NFL in attempts, completions, yards, and touchdowns.

Ben played his college football at Miami (Ohio) from 2001-2003, leaving school after his junior season.  And he holds virtually all of the school's passing records.  He was drafted out of Miami in 2004 by the Steelers with the 11th pick overall in the first round.

In his 18th and final season in 2021, he threw for 3,740 yards with 22 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.  He missed one game (the Detroit Lions game) due to a positive COVID-19 test.  The Steelers made the playoffs with a 9-7-1 record, but lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card round 42-21.