Former Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson retires: 'I thank you, football'

Former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has retired from the NFL.

The 37-year-old posted a video to social media on Wednesday confirming he's moving into a broadcasting role at CBS Sports after playing 14 years in the league.

The video features footage of Wilson visiting patients at Seattle Children's Hospital, and tributes to his parents, wife Ciara, and his longtime Seahawks coach Pete Carroll.

Wilson's career highlights

A third-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, Wilson won the Seahawks' starting job immediately and spent a decade in Seattle.

The peak of his career was Super Bowl XLVIII, when Wilson completed 72% of his passes and threw two touchdowns in the Seahawks' 43-8 drubbing of the Denver Broncos.

Wilson's spells with the Broncos, Steelers and Giants are chapters he might prefer to forget, but the Seattle years are what people will really remember.

As a true dual-threat, he walks away from the game with 10 Pro Bowls, 46,966 passing yards, 5,568 rushing yards, and 384 combined touchdowns.

He also holds the distinction of being the only quarterback in NFL history with 40,000 passing yards and 5,000 rushing yards.

Renowned for his philanthropy, Wilson took home the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2020 after he and his wife Ciara donated $1 million to the hunger-relief organisation Feeding America.

A star on and off the field, the 5'11" dynamo can look back on his career knowing he proved every doubter who said he was "too small to make it in the NFL" very, very wrong.