Ben Roethlisberger officially announced his retirement from the Steelers on Thursday, bringing to an end an era of quarterback stability previously unseen in the franchise's history.
Roethlisberger, a first-round draft pick 2004, had been the Steelers quarterback for the past 18 seasons, finishing his career as the longest-tenured quarterback with one team in NFL history.
"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 a video released by his Twitter feed. "While I know with confidence that I have given my all to the game, I am overwhelmed with gratitude what it has given to me. A boy from Findlay, Ohio, with NFL dreams, developed in Oxford at Miami University, blessed with the honor of 18 seasons as a Pittsburgh Steeler and a place to call home. The journey has been exhilarating, defined by relationships and fueled by competition. 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."
A message from Ben:@steelers #NFL #SteelersNation #ThankYou#HereWeGo #LoveAndHonor pic.twitter.com/pUbKGO1nUs
— BigBen7.com (@_BigBen7) January 27, 2022
Roethlisberger retires with two Super Bowl wins and three appearances, something that positions him in elite company. Only seven quarterbacks in NFL history have more appearances, while only four have more Super Bowl wins.
He also ranks fifth all-time in passing yards with 64,088. Only Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Brett Favre have more. In addition, he ranks eighth on the all-time passing touchdown list with 418 and fifth in wins with 165.
His 13 playoff victories are tied with Favre for fourth-most in NFL history. “I’m happy for him,” said Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. “He’s been a two-time champion and a future Hall of Famer. He’s done a great job in this league, representing this league.”
Roethlisberger was often at his best when the game was on the line. He orchestrated 53 fourth-quarter comebacks in his career, second only to Manning (54) and tied with Brady and Brees.
That included a league-best six in 2021. He also did it in the postseason, including leading the Steelers back from behind in the closing seconds of the Super Bowl in 2008. His 6-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes with 35 seconds remaining lifted the Steelers to a 27-23 win over the Cardinals in that game and is one of the iconic plays in Super Bowl – and Steelers – history. “
You have to respect the competitor. He’s a Hall-of-Fame player for that very reason, because when the game is on the line, that’s when his best football comes out,” said Ravens defensive tackle Calais Campbell, a member of that Cardinals team. ‘Big Ben,’ he’s a legend for making the plays in the critical moments. I don't know … He’s a warrior. Much respect to him.”
That Super Bowl win over the Cardinals was one of the great comebacks in Super Bowl history.
To those watching, including future Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley, then the offensive coordinator for the Cardinals, it was Roethlisberger at his finest
"I just watched that game for the first time with my son recently because, and I didn't realize this, it was the final game called by John Madden. My son hadn't seen it. He was one at the time, now he's 13," Haley said. "That final drive, my heart hurt watching it. But what he did, shaking off sacks and getting the ball out. And then that final throw, it was probably one in 500 times you make that throw. To do that in that situation, that's Ben.
"He's a crisis personality. And I mean that in a good way. The bigger the crisis, the higher the pressure, the more he was able to raise his level of play. That's truly rare."
It also gained him fans across the sporting world and made him one of the best of his generation -- if not all time.
“He’s a tremendous player that I have a ton of respect for,” said Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. “The way he plays the game, the competitor that he is, you can’t take that stuff for granted. To be able to battle to the very end every single year – he’s won Super Bowls. He’s a guy that I’ve watched growing up, I have a ton of respect for him and that’s what I told him, that if this is his last game, he did it the right way. Everybody knows that and you show him a ton of respect going out there.”
A swashbuckler in a helmet, Roethlisberger was a throwback-type player early in his career.
When so many other quarterbacks were getting rid of the football quickly and making safe plays, Roethlisberger was shaking off defenders and looking for the home run.
It led to him being the NFL's most sacked player of all-time, a record he set in 2021. Roethlisberger was sacked 554 times in his career.
Later in his career, after Haley was hired in 2012 to help Roethlisberger transition to being more content to take the check downs, something he excelled at in his final seasons.
The past two seasons, Roethlisberger got rid of the football more quickly than any other quarterback in the NFL.
"That's really a testament to him," said Haley, who was with Roethlisberger from 2012 through 2017. "Early in his career, the play didn't really start until about five seconds into it. Later, he became a pocket passer. That's a tough transition to make. But he still had that ability to move in the pocket and make plays happen. He evolved into a pocket passer."
The Steelers never had a losing season with Roethlisberger as their quarterback, posting 18 consecutive seasons with at least a .500 or better record, the longest such current streak in the NFL. The Cowboys hold the NFL record with 21 consecutive non-losing seasons.
His .670 winning percentage in the regular season and ranks second to Terry Bradshaw (.677) in team history and is sixth-highest in NFL history.
His six career games with 450 or more yards are the most in NFL history.
His arrival in 2004 marked an end to an era in the team history in which the team hadn't had a franchise quarterback since Bradshaw's retirement after the 1983 season.
And he was the perfect quarterback for Pittsburgh. Big, strong and tough.
"He had all of the physical attributes, but No. 1, he was weatherproof," Haley said. "He was a physically compete quarterback, but he was weatherproof, which was perfect for the AFC North. Rain, snow, wind, miserable conditions, it didn't matter. He had the ability to handle it all."
He also had a competitive streak a mile long.
Roethlisberger opened training camp his rookie season as the team's No. 3 quarterback. But backup Charlie Batch was injured in the preseason. Then, starter Tommy Maddox went down in the third quarter of a Week 2 loss at Baltimore.
Roethlisberger took over and never gave up the starting role again. He led the Steelers to a 13-0 record as a starter that season -- the best start for a rookie quarterback in NFL history -- winning NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year.
The Steelers went 15-1 that season, advancing to the AFC Championship, where they lost to the Patriots.
The next season, Roethlisberger led the Steelers to their first Super Bowl victory since the 1979 season, also becoming the first No. 6 seed to win a championship as the team overcame a 7-5 start -- due in part to Roethlisberger being injured -- to finish 11-5. They defeated the Seahawks in that title game, with Roethlisberger becoming the youngest quarterback in NFL history to win a Super Bowl at just 23 years of age. It's a record he still holds.
Roethlisberger was involved in a motorcycle accident in the offseason, then had an emergency appendectomy just before the start of the 2006 season as the Steelers slipped to 8-8 in what would be Bill Cowher's final season as head coach.
Following Cowher's retirement from coaching, Mike Tomlin was hired as his replacement. The Steelers returned to the Super Bowl in 2008, beating Haley's Cardinals. They again reached the Super Bowl following the 2010 season, losing to the Packers.
But with Roethlisberger, the Steelers always felt they had a chance to get back to the Super Bowl.
"We had a guy that gave you a chance and when you started the season you said, that is a Super Bowl-winning quarterback," Cam Heyward said. "There are not a lot of quarterbacks that can do what he does, to do it at that high of a level."
Haley said that extended beyond the football field.
"He was an ultra-competitive guy," Haley said. "We witnessed that if we were on the golf course, at the home run derby at training camp or the dart tournaments we would have at training camp."
Those dart tournaments were typically held among the coaching staff, but Roethlisberger and some other veterans were permitted to compete -- much to the chagrin of Haley.
"A couple of times it came down to me and him for the championship. He would need a bullseye, triple-16, whatever. He would get it."
That was often happened on the football field, as well.
Now, he'll tackle the challenges of life -- and raising three children. He and his wife, Ashlee, have three young children, sons Benjamin Jr. and Bodie, and daughter, Baylee.
At 39, he'll step into a role as a full-time father.
Roethlisberger thanked his family, the team, Tomlin and Cowher and the Rooney family, along with his many teammates, for being part of his journey as he walks into the next chapter of his life.
"Putting that jersey on every Sunday with my brothers will always be one of the biggest joys of my life," Roethlisberger said of his teammates in his statement. "Steelers Nation, the best fans in all of sports, thank you for accepting me and supporting me as your quarterback over the years. Football has been a gift, and I thank God for allowing me to play it."
