Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger officially announces retirement after 18 seasons

Ben Roethlisberger announced his retirement Thursday morning after 18 seasons in the NFL.

The longtime Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback made the anticipated announcement via Twitter, officially marking the end of one of the most decorated careers in NFL history.

In his time with the Steelers, one of the league’s most storied franchises, Roethlisberger reached an NFL-record 18 seasons without ever having a losing campaign. With Roethlisberger at the helm, the Steelers were always in the mix, culminating with a Super Bowl XL win with head coach Bill Cowher and a Super Bowl XLIII triumph alongside Tomlin.

He led the Steelers to three Super Bowl appearances in all (Pittsburgh lost Super Bowl XLV to Green Bay), 12 postseason berths and eight division titles.

Statistically speaking, Roethlisberger’s career is among the all-time greats.

He finishes his career ranked eighth in passing touchdowns (418), and fifth in passing yards (64,088), completions (5,44) and attempts (8,443).

In terms of the Steelers, Roethlisberger is the franchise standard in QB wins, passing yards, passing TDs, completions, attempts, 300-yard passing games, game-winning drives and fourth-quarter comebacks.

Roethlisberger’s 165 wins are the second-most behind Tom Brady with New England for most QB wins in a career with a single team.