(WBOY) – Pittsburg Steelers quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger announced on Thursday that he is officially retiring from the NFL.

At around 10 a.m. on Jan. 27, Roethlisberger posted a video to his Twitter account that solidified what Steelers fans across the nation already suspected—Big Ben will not be returning to football.

In the video, Roethlisberger says, “The journey has been exhilarating, defined by relationships and filed by a spirit of 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.”

Roethlisberger played in the NFL for 18 seasons, all with the Pittsburg Steelers. Fans have known about Roethlisberger’s retirement throughout the 2021-22 season, and many celebrated what they thought was Big Ben’s last game in the regular season. But Roethlisberger got to play one last game in the postseason after a rare tie in the Las Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders game secured the Steelers a Wildcard spot.

Roethlisberger officially played his last game on Jan. 17, 2022, in a first-round postseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Although the announcement is no surprise, many Steelers fans will mourn the loss of an era in Pittsburg Steelers football.

Big Ben ends his career with 165 wins, the most in Steelers franchise history, and the fifth-most in NFL history. He also led the Steelers to three Superbowls and helped secure two Superbowl wins.

“Football has been a gift, and I thank God for allowing me to play it,” Roethlisberger said in the video. He then ended the video, “with love and honor,” a hashtag that was also added to the video’s caption.

Click here to see the post from @_BigBen7 on Twitter.