Former Seattle Seahawks Super-Bowl winning quarterback Russell Wilson is retiring from the NFL, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on June 1. Schefter reported that Wilson is “finalizing a deal to become a CBS Sports analyst.”
The decision closes the playing career of the quarterback who delivered Seattle its first Super Bowl title, became one of the defining players in franchise history and later had stops with the Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants. It also ends the possibility of Wilson joining the New York Jets, where he had been connected to a potential backup role behind former Seahawks teammate Geno Smith.
Wilson’s next job is expected to put him on CBS’ NFL pregame coverage alongside James Brown, Nate Burleson and Bill Cowher, per Schefter’s report.
Russell Wilson Retires from the NFL To Join CBS
Wilson’s retirement is notable not only because of what he accomplished, but because there was still at least one possible football path on the table.
ESPN reported in April that the Jets hosted Wilson on a visit after Smith advocated for his former Seahawks teammate as a potential backup option. Smith and Wilson built a strong relationship in Seattle, where Smith spent three seasons as Wilson’s backup before eventually reviving his own career as a starter.
That would have created one of the stranger full-circle quarterback rooms in recent NFL memory: Wilson, once the face of the Seahawks, backing up Smith, who once waited behind him.
Instead, Wilson is choosing television.
Wilson Leaves as One of the Most Important Seahawks Ever
Wilson’s place in Seahawks history is secure.
Seattle drafted Wilson in the third round in 2012, and he quickly became the quarterback who helped turn Pete Carroll’s team from a rising contender into a championship franchise. Wilson threw for more than 200 yards and two touchdowns in the Seahawks’ Super Bowl XLVIII victory over the Broncos.
That win remains the defining team achievement of the Carroll-Wilson era. The Seahawks had the Legion of Boom, Marshawn Lynch, a ruthless defense and one of the NFL’s loudest home-field advantages. Wilson gave that group the quarterback stability and late-game playmaking it needed to become something bigger than a great defense with a strong run game.
Wilson also won the 2020 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award while with Seattle.
His exit from Seattle in 2022 eventually became complicated, and his post-Seahawks years never matched the heights of his first decade. But the ending should not erase the larger picture. Wilson was the quarterback of the best era in Seahawks history and one of the most successful players the franchise has ever had.
CBS Move Gives Wilson a Clean Post-NFL Transition
The CBS opportunity makes sense for Wilson because it keeps him close to the league without asking him to compete for a roster spot or accept a reduced football role.
Ex-Seattle Seahawks Star Russell Wilson Makes Final Decision on NFL Career