{"id":51146,"date":"2026-06-08T09:24:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T13:24:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=51146"},"modified":"2026-06-08T09:24:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T13:24:47","slug":"ciara-shares-emotional-tribute-to-russell-wilson-after-nfl-retirement-my-greatest-inspiration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2026\/06\/ciara-shares-emotional-tribute-to-russell-wilson-after-nfl-retirement-my-greatest-inspiration.html","title":{"rendered":"Ciara Shares Emotional Tribute to Russell Wilson After NFL Retirement: &#8216;My Greatest Inspiration&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_51149\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-51149\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/87\/2026\/06\/Russell-Wilson_credit-Kathy-Hutchins-Shutterstock-Inset-ciara-Instragram.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-51149\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/87\/2026\/06\/Russell-Wilson_credit-Kathy-Hutchins-Shutterstock-Inset-ciara-Instragram.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-51149\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kathy Hutchins \/ Shutterstock.com | Inset: @ciara \/ Instragram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After more than a decade in the NFL, Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson is officially stepping away from football \u2014 and his wife, singer Ciara, is making it clear just how proud she is of the man she calls her &#8220;greatest inspiration.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Wilson announced his retirement following reports that he finalized a deal to join CBS Sports as an analyst for &#8220;The NFL Today.&#8221; The longtime quarterback shared a heartfelt retirement video reflecting on his football journey and thanking teammates, coaches, friends, and, especially, his family for standing by him throughout his career.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Thank You, Football.<\/p>\n<p>Love, #3 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hqlS7kWQpy\">pic.twitter.com\/hqlS7kWQpy<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DangeRussWilson\/status\/2062298629071601828?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 3, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Among those cheering him on publicly was Ciara, who posted an emotional tribute celebrating both Wilson&#8217;s accomplishments and the life they have built together.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The best in the world! There&#8217;s only one, 3!&#8221; Ciara wrote on social media in response to the announcement, referencing Wilson&#8217;s jersey number.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Always so proud of you! It&#8217;s a true blessing to go on this journey with you! My greatest inspiration! I love you so much!&#8221; she added alongside heart emojis and a goat emoji, a symbol often used to mean &#8220;greatest of all time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Wilson also made sure to honor his wife during his farewell message, thanking her for being a constant source of support throughout the highs and lows of his NFL career.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Thank you, C. I thank you, Ciara, for being my greatest blessing, my best friend and my partner through it all,&#8221; Wilson said in the video. &#8220;None of this journey called life would have been the same without you.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The couple, who married in 2016, have often spoken publicly about their Christian faith and commitment to family. Together, they are raising four children, including Ciara&#8217;s oldest son, Future, from her previous relationship with rapper Future.<\/p>\n<p>Wilson&#8217;s retirement marks the close of a remarkable 14-season NFL career that included multiple Pro Bowl appearances, a Super Bowl championship, and years as one of football&#8217;s most recognizable quarterbacks.<\/p>\n<p>Drafted in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks, Wilson quickly exceeded expectations and became the face of the franchise. During his decade in Seattle, he led the Seahawks to two Super Bowl appearances and helped deliver a dominant 43-8 victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.<\/p>\n<p>Known for his mobility, leadership, and ability to make clutch plays under pressure, Wilson earned 10 Pro Bowl selections and became one of the winningest quarterbacks of his generation.<\/p>\n<p>Still, the latter part of his career proved more challenging. After being traded to the Broncos ahead of the 2022 season, Wilson struggled to recreate the same success he enjoyed in Seattle. Denver released him after two seasons, and he later had brief stints with the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants before retiring.<\/p>\n<p>Over 205 career games, Wilson compiled a 121-80-1 record while completing 64.6% of his passes for 46,966 yards, 353 touchdowns, and 114 interceptions.<\/p>\n<p>Now, Wilson is preparing for a new chapter off the field, one that will keep him connected to the game he loves while giving fans a new opportunity to hear his perspective as a broadcaster.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;As I enter this next chapter with CBS Sports and &#8216;The NFL Today,&#8217; I&#8217;m so blessed to continue doing what I love most \u2014 being around the greatest game in the world,&#8221; Wilson said.<\/p>\n<p>For Ciara, though, the moment was less about statistics or accolades and more about celebrating the man behind the career \u2014 a husband, father, and man of faith who inspired her every step of the way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After more than a decade in the NFL, Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson is officially stepping away from football \u2014 and his wife, singer Ciara, is making it clear just how proud she is of the man she calls her &#8220;greatest inspiration.&#8221; Wilson announced his retirement following reports that he finalized a deal to join&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":51149,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-television"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Ciara Shares Emotional Tribute to Russell Wilson After NFL Retirement: &#039;My Greatest Inspiration&#039;<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ciara shares heartfelt 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