Stunning career news from Tyrann Mathieu, who had his best seasons with Chiefs
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Tyrann Mathieu retires from NFL after 12 seasons across four franchises.
- Mathieu earned All-Pro honors and a Super Bowl win during 3 years with Chiefs.
- Saints restructured Mathieu's contract for 2025 before his retirement decision.
In a surprising announcement, Tyrann Mathieu said he’s retiring from the NFL after 12 seasons.
Mathieu, 33, last year completed his third season with the New Orleans Saints, his hometown team. He also played for the Arizona Cardinals, but the best years of his career were spent in Kansas City.
From 2019-21, Mathieu started 47 games for the Chiefs at safety and posted 13 of his 36 career regular-season interceptions. He was named All-Pro in 2019 and 2020 and to the Pro Bowl team in 2020 and 2021.
In 2019, Mathieu helped the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl victory in 50 years. He was a member of the NFL’s all-decade team for the 2010s.
After his LSU career, Mathieu, known as the Honey Badger, spent his first five NFL seasons with the Cardinals and one year with the Houston Texans before signing a three-year deal with Kansas City.
“He’s a legendary Louisiana player, a legendary NFL player,” said Saints general manager Mickey Loomis.
The Saints had revised Mathieu’s contract for the 2025 season and he was slated to play on a one-year, $4 million deal this fall.
This story was originally published July 22, 2025 at 2:28 PM.