The last time we saw a Quarterback with more than two decades of game-winning drives retire from the NFL, he came back a year later. Tom Brady missed playing in the big league so much that he reversed his retirement decision — but the same cannot be said for Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger.
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For nearly 20 years, Big Ben was the face of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The two-time Super Bowl champion and six-time Pro Bowler built a career on clutch moments and sheer strength in the pocket. But now, nearly three years into his retirement, Roethlisberger has made a surprising revelation — he doesn’t miss playing football.
In the latest episode of Footbahlin’ with Roethlisberger, the Steelers icon revealed that there are only two things he misses about his NFL career post-retirement. First, the camaraderie he shared with his boys in the locker room, and second, the adrenaline rush of making a game-winning drive at the last minute.
Other than that, Roethlisberger misses nothing about football — not even the thrill of shrugging off defenders with his sheer physicality or the joy of effortlessly scoring touchdowns.
“People ask me, ‘Do you miss it?’ I’m like, man, I don’t miss anything except the guys. Yeah, 100%. I don’t miss getting beat up and all that kind of stuff. Every once in a while, I think—I would tell people—when I watch and see someone with the ball in the last two minutes of the game, having a chance to win it, that hits me a little bit.”
According to Big Ben, his detachment from his playing career stems from never making football his identity. The same can’t be said for others, and Roethlisberger believes those who lacked a life outside the NFL are the ones who struggle with retirement.
Safe to say, Tom Brady’s decision to join the Buccaneers, retire after two years, and then come back makes a lot more sense now.
“But that’s what makes it hard—when you wrap your identity up in it. That’s why I think some guys can’t figure out what to do when they’re done because their identity is all in football, and they have nothing else,” said the former Steelers QB.
Roethlisberger avoided the retirement existential crisis thanks to his investments and podcasting career. While Footbahlin’ with Roethlisberger allows Big Ben to stay connected to the sport without getting sacked by 260-pound linebackers, his investments keep him occupied the rest of the time.
That said, Ben isn’t the only former Steelers quarterback who feels this way.
Former QB Devlin Hodges doesn’t miss football
For those who don’t remember, Devlin “Duck” Hodges had a briefly memorable stint with the Steelers in 2019 as a rookie due to Roethlisberger’s unfortunate season-ending elbow injury.
Though Hodges’ NFL career didn’t exactly take off, with his only career highlight being his Steelers stint [8 games-1,063 passing yards, 5 TDs, and 8 INT], even he believed that there is nothing worth missing about his NFL career other than the locker room banter sessions.
While Big Ben chose to fill the void of shared camaraderie with media and businesses, Hodges chose a much more direct path. The former NFL QB found a way to stay involved in football without having to strap on a helmet every Sunday by coaching at a local school.
Interestingly enough, his first year as a coach ended in a state championship win, proving that there are ways to channel the competitive fire beyond playing.
“People ask me, ‘Do you still miss playing?’ I’m like, I don’t think I really miss playing,” Hodges admitted. “I miss the camaraderie, I miss the locker room and all that stuff. That’s why this past year, I got into helping out at a local high school—coaching—just to be back around the game, the locker room, and what not.”
Both Roethlisberger and Hodges are proof that while football careers eventually come to an end, the love for the game—and, more importantly, the relationships built along the way—are lifelong assets that remain.
