Russell Wilson Likely Done As An NFL Player As CBS Sports Analyst Deal Nears Completion
He had a Jets offer on the table, said he wanted a 15th NFL season, and then chose the CBS studio instead. Russell Wilson's playing career is effectively over.
Russell Wilson spent 14 seasons in the NFL, won a Super Bowl, made 10 Pro Bowls, and threw for more touchdowns than almost any quarterback in the league since his debut in 2012. On Monday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Wilson is finalizing a deal to join CBS Sports as an analyst on The NFL Today, the network's Sunday pregame show alongside host James Brown, Nate Burleson and former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher. He will replace Matt Ryan, who left CBS this offseason to become president of football for the Atlanta Falcons.
Wilson has not officially filed retirement paperwork, and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport noted the deal represents a pause on his playing career rather than a permanent end. But at 37, with no starting job available and a backup offer from the New York Jets declining to materialise into a contract, the CBS role appears to be the final chapter.
The Career He Is Leaving Behind
Wilson spent his first 10 seasons in Seattle, where he won Super Bowl XLVIII following the 2013 season, defeating the Denver Broncos 43-8 in one of the most dominant championship performances in the game's history. He led the Seahawks to back-to-back NFC title games and compiled 292 touchdowns and 37,059 passing yards with the franchise before being traded to Denver in 2022.
The final act was less clean. The Broncos gave him a massive extension that generated a record $85 million in dead money when they cut him in 2024. He spent one season in Pittsburgh before signing with the New York Giants on a one-year, $10.5 million deal in 2025. He started three games before being replaced by rookie Jaxson Dart, then leapfrogged on the depth chart by Jameis Winston. He finished the season with 831 yards and three touchdowns across six appearances, career lows across the board.
Why the CBS Move Makes Sense
Wilson was transparent about the choice he was weighing. He told the New York Post in May he had an offer from the Jets and an opportunity in television, and that he was thinking carefully about both. The Jets offer never became a contract. The CBS deal did.
He also worked as a guest analyst on The NFL Today during Week 14 of the 2025 season, which gave both sides a chance to see how the fit worked before committing. Clearly, it worked well enough.