It’s official, Ben Roethlisberger is retiring.
The starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers for the past 18 seasons made the announcement in a video posted to his Twitter account.
“I retire from football a truly grateful man,” Roethlisberger said thanking God, his family, friends, the Steelers organization and Steeler Nation.
WATCH: His official retirement video
Roethlisberger won two Super Bowl championships and played in a third.
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Big Ben's retirement officially closes the book on the heralded QB class of 2004, which saw the Steelers take Roethlisberger at No. 11 overall after the Chargers took Eli Manning No. 1 and then deal him to the Giants for No. 4 overall pick Philip Rivers.
That trio, over 51 seasons (18 for Big Ben, 17 for Rivers, 16 for Eli), combined for 184,551 passing yards and 1,205 touchdowns. They did all that almost completely for their original teams as well; Roethlisberger and Manning spent their entire careers in Pittsburgh and New York, but Rivers spent his final season in Indianapolis after 16 years with the Chargers.