Ottawa Redblacks quarterback Henry Burris has announced his retirement.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Henry Burris says he's ready to start a new chapter.
The star Ottawa Redblacks quarterback has officially announced his retirement at the age of 41. He leaves the game after 20 pro seasons, 17 of them in the CFL.
The decision comes roughly two months after Burris led Ottawa to a stunning 39-33 overtime Grey Cup win over the Calgary Stampeders. Burris said he had a good idea when he hoisted the championship trophy over his head after the game that he was finished with football.
"You always have that 10-15 per cent in you that's holding on," Burris said during a lunchtime news conference surrounded by his family and teammates. "Sometimes when I was able to come home, instead of watching film I was like, 'You know what? Let's go play a round of golf.'
"That was pretty fun because I hadn't played a round of golf hardly in the summer in over 20 years. At the end of the day, there's only one team that I'm ready to spend the most time right now and that's these other six eyes that are here with me."
Burris added while he'd been dealing with a lot of emotions, "this is a celebration."
Last year's Grey Cup game was a showdown between the two teams that finished atop the East and West Divisions.
It appeared to be a huge mismatch on paper as Calgary posted a CFL-best 15-2-1 record while Ottawa posted a lacklustre 8-9-1 record.
But despite suffering a knee injury in warmups, Burris orchestrated one of the biggest upsets in Grey Cup history, passing for 461 yards and three TDs while running for two other touchdowns.
The final pass of his illustrious CFL career was a an 18-yard TD strike to Earnest Jackson in overtime that provided the Redblacks with their winning margin and a CFL championship in just their third season.
Burris's heroics — he was the game MVP — also earned Ottawa its first Grey Cup title since 1976.
Burris said he'll take the next few weeks to decide on his future endeavours. While Burris is finished with football, the Oklahoma native and his family will continue to call Ottawa home.
"When we came here, this city embraced my family and I," he said. "The organization, the community, the people here are just first-class . . . there's never been a city I could call home and feel more comfortable in saying that."
First and foremost, though, will be fine-tuning his prowess on skates to challenge sons Armond and Barron.
"I'm trying to be the best skater in our family and win a Burris Cup on the ice," Burris said. "And show these two knuckleheads that hard work does pay off and start to be that example I preach to them every day . . . I've got to show them now."