Watch: Ben Roethlisberger announces retirement with emotional video on Twitter

The Ben Roethlisberger era has come to a close for the Pittsburgh Steelers, with the quarterback announcing his retirement on Thursday.

As expected, we’ve seen Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger launch his final pass in the NFL. Following the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Wild Card Round, everyone has been waiting for the man known as Big Ben to call it a career.

Well, things have been made official on Thursday morning, as Roethlisberger took to Twitter to let folks know he has retired from the game he loves so much. Roethlisberger did so by posting an emotional video, which will surely bring plenty of tears for the Pittsburgh fanbase.

Ben Roethlisberger announces his retirement from the Pittsburgh Steelers and NFL

It goes without saying, but the next stop will be the Pro Football Hall of Fame for Roethlisberger. Spending 18 seasons in Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger threw for 64,088 passing yards and 418 touchdown passes, which has him in fifth for both categories on the all-time NFL list. He was also named to the Pro Bowl six times.

Most importantly, Roethlisberger helped the Steelers win two Super Bowls, with Pittsburgh taking down Seattle and Arizona. He appeared in a third game with the Lombardi Trophy on the line, but the team suffered a 31-25 loss to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.

With all of his success with the team, Roethlisberger will always be remembered and loved by folks in the Steel City. From the moment he was taken out of Miami University (Ohio) in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft, Roethlisberger won over Steelers fans.

It was long expected that this would be his final season too. The reception he got following Pittsburgh’s final home game against Cleveland earlier this month was simply tremendous. Fans showered Roethlisberger with love and rightfully so. There will never be another signal-caller quite like him in Pittsburgh.