Randle El Retires, Joins Big Ten Network

Antwaan Randle El is retiring from the NFL, joining the Big Ten Network.

Antwaan Randle El – the most exciting Indiana football player in my or any other lifetime – is retiring after nine seasons in the NFL. But Indiana and Big Ten fans haven’t heard the last of him.

It had been rumored for a week or so, but he confirmed it to the Times of Northwest Indiana:

“It’s official. I’m hanging ‘em up,” he said.

Randle El said he had offers from some teams, but was not interested in any of them. He made his mind up about six weeks ago that he wanted to move on to other opportunities.

“I didn’t want to go with the teams that were offering me, so I just said, ‘It’s time.’ Prayed about it, God opened some other doors, and I said I’m going to go that way,” Randle El said.

The Riverdale native, who graduated from Thornton, will be working with the Big Ten Network in the fall as both a color analyst on the football field and in the studio.

He’ll do Indiana games the first two weeks of the season.

Randle El, who won a Super Bowl in Pittsburg, was the Big Ten offensive player of the year and finished sixth in the Heisman voting in 2001. He passed for 7,469 and 42 touchdowns, while rushing for another 3,895 and 44 in his career in Bloomington.