By Mallory Mattingly
Former Steelers QB and two-time Super Bowl champion Ben Roethlisberger joined the “Sports Spectrum Podcast” to discuss how his faith grew stronger the longer he played in the NFL.
“I appreciated my role as a Christian and athlete. It kind of changed as I kept playing. Football is who I was, right? I mean, it has to be. You know that when you get there. You have no choice but to give it everything you have. And then, as I got more mature in my faith and more mature as a football player, I realized, okay, football is what I do. It’s not who I am,” Roethlisberger said on the podcast.
“So, I try and really talk to the younger guys. People ask me questions about it, and I try and remind people like football is what you do; it’s not who you are,” he continued. “But it’s hard to tell younger guys coming in the league that because I was there, and I understand what they’re doing, like, they’re trying to make it. They’re trying to give it everything they have, and some guys are obviously different.”
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“If you’re a first or second rounder, like, you’re most likely going to be on that team, you’re going to make it,” the Super Bowl champion added. “And whatever, some guys are late rounders or free agents, they don’t really, a lot of times, have a choice but to literally give everything they have and make it all about football.”
Though Roethlisberger retired from the NFL in 2022 after 18 season, he still uses his platform for good.
He recently took time out of his busy schedule to visit Dayton Children’s Hospital in Dayton, Ohio.
“Meeting Ben today was very surreal and truly made my day,” Jaylen Lovett, child life specialist and former patient at Dayton Children’s neonatal intensive care unit, told the Dayton Daily News.
“As a lifelong Steelers fan and Pittsburgh supporter, it was an amazing experience meeting the guy who brought so many different emotions to me and helped me grow a love for the game of football,” Lovett added. “I still can’t stop smiling just thinking that Ben himself let me hold his Super Bowl ring.”
Roethlisberger also spends a lot of his time with his family.
Related: Pittsburgh Steelers Chaplain Encourages Team to ‘Deflect the Glory’ to God
“Cowboyin’ (and girlin’) in Colorado …on the beautiful #WindRiverRanch in Estes Park,” the former quarterback shared on X.
Cowboyin’ (and girlin’) in Colorado
…on the beautiful #WindRiverRanch in Estes Park. 🤠
More photos: https://t.co/ZSpEXtKcDF pic.twitter.com/Hv92vkSuMq
— BigBen7.com (@_BigBen7) June 23, 2025
It’s incredible to see someone with such an influential platform use it to encourage both rising NFL stars and his fans to find their identity in God.
Read Next: Ben Roethlisberger Is Ready to ‘Expand God’s Kingdom’
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