Kurt Warner officially announced his retirement from the NFL this afternoon. Kurt Warner spent several years with the St. Louis Rams, New York Giants and finally with the Arizona Cardinals. He is a two-time NFL MVP and Super Bowl XXXIV Champion. Fans, put on your Kurt Warner Jersey and let’s celebrate his amazing career.

Kurt Warner started his professional football career on a different path than most players. After college he wasn’t drafted by an NFL team, but did earn a shot to try out for the Green Bay Packers back in 1994. He didn’t make the team and ultimately ended up playing Arena Football for the next three seasons. By 1998, Warner was finally given another chance in the NFL and was signed by the St. Louis Rams.

Any NFL fan knows how his stay in St. Louis was – two NFL MVP awards and a Super Bowl ring. Kurt Warner was the leader of “The Greatest Show on Turf.” I remember watching those Rams games back in the late 90s and early 2000s. I swear you had never seen a team throw the ball like they did. Their offensive power was absolutely amazing.

In 2004, Warner was released by the Rams after posting a bad season and getting injured. He signed on with the Giants, but was quickly replaced by rookie Eli Manning. At this point, most people thought his career was over.

In 2005, Warner landed in Arizona with a one-year deal. Over the next few years he was a spot starter, battling Matt Leinart for playing time. It didn’t take Cardinals coaches long to realize Warner was still the better player – even at 36 years old. He led the Cardinals to the Super Bowl in 2008 and to the playoffs again in 2009.

Warner has the second-highest completion percentage in NFL history (trailing only Chad Pennington), with a career percentage of 65.4%.[5] He also holds the highest completion percentage in a single game during the regular season, at 92.3 percent (24/26), on September 20, 2009, against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

His last two years have been somewhat magical and really helped solidify him as a HOF player. Congratulations on a great career and good luck in your post-football endeavors.