Report: Russell Wilson leaving NFL, finalizing deal with CBS Sports to become analyst

Russell Wilson is leaving the NFL to become an analyst for CBS Sports, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. As of now, Wilson is not retired from playing, but those days are on hold for now.

“Sources: Ten-time Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson is finalizing a deal to become a CBS Sports analyst,” Schefter wrote on Twitter/X. “Wilson won a Super Bowl, the Walter Payton Man of the Year award and now leaves the NFL to become an analyst on the network’s pregame show that includes James Brown, Nate Burleson and Bill Cowher.”

Wilson previously said he was weighing an offer from the New York Jets to play this season or to go to television. Well, the decision is in as he’ll join The NFL Today.

Across his 14-season NFL tenure, Wilson won a Super Bowl, was named Walter Payton Man of the Year, was named a Second Team All-Pro in 2019, was selected to 10 Pro Bowl games, and led the NFL in passing touchdowns in 2017 (34). A former third-round pick out of Wisconsin by Seattle, Wilson might have some juice left, but it looks like television is his main focus at this time.

As far as the television role, The New York Times originally reported that Wilson was in talks to replace former QB Matt Ryan on CBS’ NFL Today. He now joins the panel of James Brown, Bill Cowher, Nate Burleson, and Jonathan Jones.

Ryan left the show for a role in the Atlanta Falcons’ front office and Wilson would naturally slide into that chair on TV. Wilson spent the 2025 season as the starter and backup for the New York Giants. In fact, he’s bounced around the last four seasons between three franchises since being traded from the Seattle Seahawks: the Denver Broncos, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Giants.

The move to television on CBS seems to have been in the works for a while, as Wilson joined NFL Today as a guest analyst during the Giants’ bye week last season. He’ll be a fixture on Sundays again, just on the desk and not the field this fall.