"Every year, January 20th is a special and emotional day," Philip Rivers wrote in an official statement released to the NFL, "It is St. Sebastian's Feast Day, the day I played in the AFC Championship without an ACL, and now the day that after 17 seasons, I'm announcing my retirement from the National Football League."
A Decatur, Alabama native, Philip Rivers graduated from North Carolina State and was drafted to the New York Giants shortly before they traded him to the San Diego Chargers. Though Rivers spent most of his career as a Charger, he's just wrapped up a memorable year playing for the Indianapolis Colts, one that included a playoff appearance on Super Wild Card Weekend vs the Bills.
He has a career record of 471 TDs with a 65% pass completion rate, and was Associated Press' "Comeback Player of the Year" in 2014 for a fantastic season that led them to the playoffs after recovering from a major back injury. That wasn't the first time he'd played through injury, either; his ACL was completely gone when San Diego faced New England at the AFC Championship in 2008.
In his announcement, Rivers went on to thank God for allowing him to live his "childhood dream of playing quarterback in the NFL," and added, "As my playing career comes to an end, the next chapter begins." We wish him and his family the absolute best on this next chapter.
Read his full statement here.