Former Arizona Wildcat, Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles announces retirement from NFL

After an 11-year NFL career, Nick Foles is hanging it up.

In a video shared on Foles’ social media accounts Thursday morning, the former Arizona Wildcats quarterback and Super Bowl MVP announced his retirement from the NFL.

“From the first day I was born, my dad put a football in my hands,” said the 35-year-old Foles. “He must’ve known something, because it’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid to play in the NFL, and I will be forever grateful for that.”

The Austin, Texas native starred at Westlake High School, where he passed for 5,658 yards and 56 touchdowns, breaking former NFL star Drew Brees’ passing records. Foles signed to Michigan State in 2007 and shared a quarterback room with NFL quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Brian Hoyer. Foles briefly transferred to Arizona State, before signing with the Wildcats under head coach Mike Stoops in 2008.

After four-year starter Willie Tuitama graduated, Foles competed with Matt Scott for the starting role, but lost the battle. Foles was inserted in the second half of Arizona’s nonconference road loss to Iowa and was named the starter heading into the Wildcats’ Pac-10 opener at Oregon State. Foles led the Wildcats to a 37-32 win over the Beavers and remained Arizona’s starting quarterback for three seasons.

Foles led Arizona to an 8-5 record in 2009 and positioned the Wildcats in potentially controlling their destiny to the Rose Bowl with a matchup against Oregon with ESPN’s “College GameDay” in Tucson for the first, but Arizona lost to the Ducks in double-overtime. Arizona lost to Nebraska 33-0 in the Holiday Bowl.

In the three seasons Foles was the starter, the Wildcats didn’t win a bowl game, but the quarterback finished his career as the program’s all-time passing leader with 10,011 yards and 67 touchdowns.

Following an illustrious career at the UA, Foles was a third-round draft choice by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2012 and carved out an 11-year career, primarily as a backup. As a rookie under former Eagles head coach Andy Reid, Foles took over as starter after Michael Vick suffered a concussion. In his first start, Foles led the Eagles to a walk-off win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football.

In Foles’ second season under Chip Kelly, he competed with Vick for the starting job but, like his Arizona career, didn’t earn the starting job until midway through the season. Foles passed for 2,891 yards, 27 touchdowns and two interceptions in 2013; he had the best touchdown-to-interception ratio in the NFL.

Foles’ production dipped in 2014, when he passed for 2,183 yards, 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, before he was traded to the St. Louis Rams. Foles was a backup for the Rams and Kansas City Chiefs for two seasons.

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Foles entered free agency in 2017 and signed a two-year contract to return to the Eagles for a second stint. During Week 14 of the 2017 season, Eagles starter Carson Wentz suffered a season-ending ACL injury, putting Foles back as Philadelphia’s starter.

Foles led the top-seeded Eagles to their first-ever Super Bowl, taking down the New England Patriots and future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady. In a play known as “Philly Special,” one of the most iconic plays in Super Bowl history, Foles caught a touchdown pass at the goal line. Foles is the first player to catch and throw a touchdown in Super Bowl history. The interaction between Foles and Eagles head coach Doug Pederson on the sidelines before “Philly Special” was turned into a statue outside Lincoln Financial Field.

Foles is the only former Wildcat to earn Super Bowl MVP honors.

After the 2018 season, Foles signed a four-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars and was traded to the Chicago Bears in 2020, before ending his career with a two-year stint with the Indianapolis Colts.

Foles ended his NFL career with 14,227 yards, 82 touchdowns and 47 interceptions. Between his high school, college and NFL careers, Foles threw 29,953 yards and 205 touchdowns. Foles made just under $88 million in career earnings.

“It’s been such a special privilege to play for Philadelphia, St. Louis, Kansas City, Jacksonville, Chicago and Indianapolis,” Foles said in his retirement video. “To the fans of the NFL around the world, thank you for making the game so special. Ya’ll are the ones who bring the energy into the stadiums. Thank you specifically to the Philadelphia Eagles fans. Thank you for all of your support, from 2012 when I was drafted to 2017 when I came back. You truly made playing in Philadelphia the most special experience in my football career.

“To all the coaches I had in my career, thank you for everything. Thank you for the correction, thank you for the teaching, thank you for uplifting, thank you for being there for me for my entire career. To my teammates, that bond we have in the locker room, going to work every day, being on the practice field, being in the weight room, being in the steam room and sauna and those conversations, that bond will last forever.

“I want to give a special thanks to my wife, Tori, you’re the rock of this household. Thank you for guiding our family through the transitions. The conversations we’ve had before games, the week of games, I want to give a special thank you. I want to thank my mom and dad. Ya’ll instilled a work ethic that took me to the NFL. The character traits ya’ll have, the hard work ya’ll have, thank you for being the example for me.”

Foles, who is married to former UA volleyball player Tori (Moore) Foles), said “I want to cheer on the next generation of NFL players,” in his post-playing chapter.

“Go out there each and every day, and give it everything you have. As this chapter closes, another one opens. I’m truly grateful for my time in the NFL. I get to be a husband and a father. I have three kids at home that I get to be around all the time. I get to coach their sports, be at their sports and I also get to help them with homework, help them get through tantrums and be there each and every day.

“I’m truly excited for it. This isn’t the end. I know I’ll see you soon. Thank ya’ll.”