Matt Ryan, the 2016 NFL MVP and former NFL passer leader, has officially retired as a member of the Atlanta Falcons.
Ryan played 14 seasons at quarterback for the Falcons, who drafted him third overall in 2008, and one final season with the Indianapolis Colts in 2022.
After not playing last season and working as a television analyst, Ryan announced his retirement on Monday in a video posted by the Falcons.
“My childhood dream has officially come to an end,” Ryan said in the video. “I’m honored to retire as a Falcon.”
Ryan led the NFL in completions in 2019 and 2020 and won the 2016 MVP award when he led the Falcons to an 11-5 record with 4,944 passing yards, 38 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
He was selected to four Pro Bowls and led the Falcons to Super Bowl LI in 2017, where they famously blew a 28-3 lead to the New England Patriots.
“Matt Ryan’s impact on the Atlanta Falcons organization and the city of Atlanta is immeasurable,” Falcons owner Arthur Blank said in a statement.
“Matt was selected as the third-overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, went on to win the NFL Rookie of the Year award, and led us to the playoffs in his first season.”
“That was the start of building a special career that now sees him holding every significant passing record in our franchise history. Matt always represented himself, his family, teammates, and our team with class, character, and integrity on and off the field.”
Ryan started 234 career games, 222 of them in Atlanta, and posted a 124-109-1 record. He missed just three games with the Falcons.
For his career, Ryan completed 65.6% of his passes for 62,792 yards (seventh in NFL history), threw 381 touchdown passes (ninth in NFL history), and 183 interceptions.
His 38 career fourth-quarter comebacks rank him fourth all-time in the category behind Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Ben Roethlisberger.
“You have no control in this profession in where you start,” Ryan said. “I am so lucky that my start and my finish was here in Atlanta.”
