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A16 sports
Friday 28 January 2022
Roethlisberger retires at 39: Time to ‘hang up my cleats’

By WILL GRAVES into one of the league's
AP Sports Writer premier passers in his 30s.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — No He twice led the league in
more comebacks for Ben yards passing and retires in
Roethlisberger. the all-time top 10 in yards
The longtime Pittsburgh passing and touchdown
Steelers quarterback an- passes and game-winning
nounced his retirement drives. Off the field, he got
on Thursday, saying it was married in 2011 and started
"time to clean out my lock- a family while largely re-
er, hang up my cleats" af- treating from public view.
ter 18 seasons, two Super The only thing that didn't
Bowls, countless team re- really change? Winning.
cords and a spot in the Hall Roethlisberger posted a
of Fame all but secure. 165-81-1 record as a starter,
"I don't know how to put the most in franchise history
into words what the game and fifth-most ever. The
of football has meant to Steelers won the AFC North
me and what a blessing it eight times with his familiar
has been," Roethlisberger, No. 7 behind center and
39, said in a video mes- the player known univer-
sage. "But I know with con- Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) runs onto the field before an NFL wild-card sally as "Big Ben" seemed to
fidence I have given my playoff football game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022, in Kansas City, Mo. thrive when Pittsburgh was
all to the game; I am over- Associated Press in a tight spot. His 53 game-
whelmed with gratitude for winning drives are tied for
what it has given me." that it was time for him to Roethlisberger called the ing on a now-iconic touch- second in NFL history be-
The much-anticipated de- move on and spend more journey from a kid growing down pass over the out- hind Peyton Manning's 54.
cision came less than two time with his wife, Ashley, up in Ohio to the 11th over- stretched hands of three Long regarded for his
weeks after Pittsburgh's and their three children. all pick in the 2004 draft to Arizona defenders to San- toughness and playing in
lopsided loss to Kansas He made it a point to em- a likely future Hall of Famer tonio Holmes in the back considerable pain, Roeth-
City in the first round of the brace the moment follow- "exhilarating." corner of the end zone. lisberger suffered only one
postseason, the 12th time ing a Monday night win And wildly successful. "Putting that jersey on ev- major injury. He missed al-
in Roethlisberger's career over the Browns on Jan. 3, The Steelers never endured ery Sunday with my broth- most the entire 2019 sea-
the Steelers reached the doing a victory lap of sorts a losing season during Ro- ers will always be one of son after tearing ligaments
playoffs. before disappearing down ethlisberger's tenure and the greatest joys of my life," in his right elbow in Week 2
He hinted before his fi- the tunnel surrounded by captured Super Bowls 40 he said. against Seattle.
nal game at Heinz Field his family. and 46 — the latter com- Roethlisberger's personal He returned in 2020 and
journey, unlike his profes- guided the Steelers to an
sional one, was more com- 11-0 start and a division
plicated. He wasn't wear- title, throwing for 3,803
ing a helmet when broke yards and 33 touchdowns
his jaw and his nose in a against just 10 intercep-
motorcycle crash in 2006 tions. The season ended,
shortly after becoming the however, with a four-inter-
youngest quarterback ever ception performance in a
to win a Super Bowl. home playoff loss to Cleve-
He was twice accused land.
of sexual assault, once in While teammates and
2009 and again in 2010. A good friends Maurkice
civil case filed against him Pouncey and Vance Mc-
stemming from an inci- Donald retired, Roethlis-
dent at Lake Tahoe in 2009 berger returned for one last
was settled out of court. A run behind an almost com-
woman in Georgia alleged pletely rebuilt offensive line.
he assaulted her at a bar in The Steelers sputtered for
March 2010 but prosecu- long stretches, with Roeth-
tors did not formally charge lisberger very much looking
him. his age at times.
The NFL suspended him for Yet there were still flashes of
the start of the 2010 season the Ben of old, not Old Ben,
for violating the league's perhaps most notably in a
personal conduct policy. 20-19 win over Baltimore in
He returned to lead the early December in which
Steelers to the Super Bowl, he threw a pair of fourth-
a loss to Green Bay. quarter touchdown passes
The second half of his ca- to edge the rival Ravens.
reer hinted at his evolu- Despite the offense's limi-
tion both as a player and tations, the Steelers man-
a person. Known more for aged to scrap their way
his rugged "Ben being Ben" to a playoff berth despite
approach to the game an underwhelming 9-7-1
during his 20s, he morphed season.q