CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Former Panthers tight end Greg Olsen, currently with the Seattle Seahawks, announced Sunday he would be retiring from the NFL after 14 years.
Olsen made the announcement on FOX Sports, confirming he will be retiring from the league and joining the sports broadcast world.
"After 14 years of playing in this league -- proud of what I was able to accomplish, proud of the relationships, everything that the game has given me -- but sometimes when it's time, it's time, and my time in the NFL now has come to an end," Olsen said, in part.
FOX Sports confirmed he'd be in the broadcast booth in the fall.
In a statement posted to Twitter, Olsen said he has much to be proud of in his 14 seasons, saying in part: "To the countless teammates, coaches, and staff members in Chicago, Seattle, and especially Carolina, I thank you. You molded and shaped me into the player and person I am today."
Olsen, 35, said while he tries to not have regrets in general, he does come away with two: that he never reached "the top of the mountain," and that he wasn't able to enjoy the end of his run with family. "Watching the time tick down, in an empty stadium, knowing it would be my last game. Not having the ability to be surrounded by my loved ones. Not being able to hug them and thank them for a lifetime of love and sacrifice."
Olsen said things didn't go as he would've planned for the end of his time in the NFL, "but it was a great ride."
Olsen was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 2007 but traded to the Panthers in 2011, where he spent the next nine seasons. The team says Olsen is their "all-time leader in receiving yards (6,463), receptions (524) and 100-yard receiving games (10) by a tight end."
In his nine seasons with Carolina, Olsen made three Pro Bowls and one Super Bowl and had 524 catches for 6,463 yards and 39 touchdowns. He also was a team leader for the Panthers. He joined the Seattle Seahawks for one season.
The Panthers posted a tribute to Olsen on Twitter, thanking him for his skills on and off the field.
Olsen is also known for the impact he had on the Charlotte community. In December, he shared the first look at the new pediatric cardiac center at Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte funded largely by his foundation.
In May 2019, Atrium Health announced then-Panthers star Olsen's foundation had donated $2.5 million for the center. The new center is named the HEARTest Yard Congenital Heart Center. The virtual grand opening was held on Dec. 7.
RELATED: First look: New pediatric heart center at Levine Children's funded by Greg Olsen Foundation
After over a decade on the field and nearly a decade impacting the Carolinas, Olsen is onto the next phase.
"I'm excited for the next chapter," Olsen said to FOX Sports. "I'm excited that that chapter involves the FOX family, and I'm going to be working with FOX moving forward in my post-career endeavors. I'm stepping away, I'm done -- I got it all out of my system."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
