Russell Wilson Announces NFL Retirement in Video After CBS Contract, QB Won Super Bowl with Seahawks

Quarterback Russell Wilson, a Super Bowl champion, Walter Payton Man of the Year award winner and 10-time Pro Bowler who played 14 NFL seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants, has announced his retirement from the league.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported Monday that Wilson had accepted a role with CBS Sports to be an analyst on its NFL pregame show alongside other responsibilities.

The Seahawks selected Wilson, a former star at NC State and Wisconsin, at 75th overall (third round) in the 2012 NFL draft.

He immediately won the starting job and excelled in his first season, earning Pro Bowl honors, finishing third in the Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year vote and guiding his team to 11 wins and a playoff victory. It was a huge leap from the year before, when Seattle went 7-9.

A punishing defense led by the "Legion of Boom" secondary characterized the Seahawks in the early-to-mid 2010s, but Wilson was excellent in his own right. Flanked by great talents (e.g. running back Marshawn Lynch and wide receiver Doug Baldwin), the Seattle offense caused serious problems for the rest of the league as well.

Wilson started for 10 seasons (2012-2021), and the Seahawks made the playoffs in eight of them. Seattle also won four NFC West titles, two NFC crowns and one Super Bowl in 2013, Wilson's second season.

Over his Seahawks career, which featured nine Pro Bowls, Wilson completed 65.0 percent of his passes for 292 touchdowns and 37,059 yards (7.8 yards per attempt). Wilson also won the Walter Payton Man of the Year award to cap his 2020 season.

The rest of his NFL career wasn't as sterling. After the 2021 season, Wilson got traded to the Denver Broncos, who signed the QB to a five-year, $245 million extension. Things did not go well in Denver. First-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett was fired after 15 games (4-11) in 2022. Wilson fared better in 2023 but was benched at the end of the season by head coach Sean Payton.

The 2024 season was a much better one for Wilson. Although he missed the beginning of the year with a calf injury, Wilson played the last 11 games, completing 63.7 percent of his passes for 2,482 yards, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions. Pittsburgh went 6-5 in his starts and 10-7 overall en route to a playoff appearance.

Wilson's last year was with the Giants. He started the year as QB1 but struggled in two of three games as the team began 0-3. Big Blue then made a switch to rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart.

Although the last four years of his career were rocky, Wilson's Seattle days were fantastic and made him one of the NFL's biggest names during the 2010s.

Wilson's off-the-field efforts have been incredible as well.

Of note, he and wife Ciara Wilson, a multi-platinum, Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and dancer (among other accolades and titles) partnered with Wheels Up, to pledge 10 million meals to Feeding America.

He's also made weekly hospital visits to sick children over the years.

Wilson's professional life now moves behind the analyst desk. CBS needed a new voice for NFL Today after former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan joined his old team to become the President of Football.

Now Wilson is that new voice, bringing a wealth of experience and success from his playing days along with him.