Los Angeles Chargers owner Dean Spanos called Philip Rivers “one of the greatest Chargers” ever following the Colts QB’s retirement announcement.
“What a tremendous career,” Spanos shared in a statement posted by the Los Angeles team Wednesday on Instagram.
“What a special person,” he added. “Philip [Rivers] was a true original and did it his way, and his way was a heck of a lot of fun to watch. He was the heart and soul of the Chargers organization for so many years and, as I’ve said before, we cannot thank Philip enough for laying it on the line each and every play with us.” (RELATED: Chargers’ Rookie Justin Herbert Had It All Planned Out When He Was Nine)
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“He will be remembered as the consummate professional, the ultimate gamer and one of the greatest Chargers – as well as one of the dadgum best quarterbacks – to ever play the game,” Spanos continued. “Congratulations, Philip, on a career for the ages!” (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
A second post from the Chargers, included a clip of Rivers at the end of the 2019 season before he left to join the Indianapolis Colts. They captioned the video, “we love you, phil.”
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Rivers announced earlier Wednesday that he was walking away from the game after playing in the league for 17 years.
“Every year, January 20th is a special and emotional day,” Rivers shared in a written statement to ESPN. “It is St. Sebastian’s Feast Day, the day I played in the AFC Championship without an ACL, and now the day that after 17 seasons, I’m announcing my retirement from the National Football League.”
“Thank you God for allowing me to live out my childhood dream of playing quarterback in the NFL,” he added. “I am grateful to the Chargers for 16 seasons, and the Colts for the 17th season.”
During his 15 years as the starting QB for the Chargers he never missed a game, not even in the playoffs, the outlet noted.
This season with the Colts, the star QB passed for 4,169 yards and 24 TDs, helping to lead Indianapolis to an 11-5 record and a score a shot at the post season, winning a wild-card berth before falling to the Buffalo Bills in 27-24 in the playoffs.
Rivers won 134 career games and is No. 2 among quarterbacks without a Super Bowl ring and eighth of all time.