Michigan football legend, two-time Super Bowl champion Brandon Graham retires after 15 seasons

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Former Michigan Wolverines legend and Philadelphia Eagles two-time Super Bowl champion Brandon Graham announced his retirement from the NFL after 15 seasons.

Graham got emotional during his lengthy press conference on Tuesday (Mar. 18).

“First, I just want to say thank you to everybody. I gave everything I had, and I don’t have no regrets. That’s one thing I tell them young boys, ‘Don’t have no regrets.’ First, I just want to say 15 years ago, I walked into this city as a young man with dreams, big dreams, a little bit of nervousness, and a whole lot of fire in my heart. I had no idea back then what this journey would bring. I didn’t know how many times I would be tested. I didn’t know how much I would grow, and I surely didn’t know how deeply I would fall in love with these fans, the team, and this city.”

Brandon Graham

Before his illustrious NFL career, Graham donned the maize and blue. In 2006, he was one of five freshmen to play in the Wolverines’ season opener.

He made his first tackle against the Northwestern Wildcats on Oct. 28, 2006, and recorded his first sack and forced fumble during the Indiana Hoosiers’ matchup on Nov. 11.

Graham finished his career with nine tackles for losses in his final two games with the men in maize.

During that time frame, the Detroit native had a career-high five solo tackles for losses against the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2009.

Graham was one of seven finalists for the Hendricks Award in 2009. The coaches and media selected him as a First-Team All-Big Ten selection.

B.G. also became a First-Team 2009 College Football All-America Team selection by ESPN and a Second-Team All-American defensive line member.

During his final run with the Wolverines, Graham was selected as Big-Ten co-MVP, marking the seventh time a defensive player earned the award.

B.G. also won the team MVP award twice, making him Michigan’s first defensive player to receive such honors.

Graham later won MVP at the 2010 Senior Bowl, where he accumulated five tackles, two sacks, and one forced fumble before the Philadelphia Eagles selected him in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Graham set franchise records in his 15-year career, playing in 218 games, 12 of which were in the postseason.

The future Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive stud racked up 76.5 regular-season sacks, trailing the Minister of Defense Reggie White, who tallied 128, and Trent Cole, who acquired 85.5 in Eagles history.

For more numbers, B.G. had 487 total tackles, 126 tackles for loss, 153 quarterback hits, and 22 forced fumbles in 206 regular-season games played.

To cap off his illustrious career, Graham played in three Super Bowls (2018, 2023, 2025), winning two, all with the Eagles.

Watch the full press conference below: