The Honey Badger has officially gone out to pasture. Tyrann Mathieu, who earned that nickname while starring at LSU, has decided to retire after 12 seasons in the National Football League.
Mathieu, who spent the last three seasons with the New Orleans Saints, surprised the team by making his announcement on the eve of the Saints’ beginning training camp on Wednesday.
He literally hung up his cleats in a picture on Instagram in which he announced his retirement.
“From my first snap in college to my final play in the NFL, this journey has been nothing short of a blessing. Football gave me purpose, discipline, and memories that will stay with me forever. But more than anything, it gave me a community.”
In the post, he thanked his coaches, teammates, and fans. He concluded his message by saying, “I hope I made you proud out there. This isn’t goodbye—it’s just the next chapter.”
The 33-year-old safety had just reworked his contract with the Saints in March 2025 in order to give the team salary cap relief and to ensure his return this season. Mathieu was set to enter the final year of his Saints contract.
While the announcement came as a surprise to Saints fans, the organization itself was at least made aware of Mathieu’s intentions beforehand. Mickey Loomis, the team’s general manager, said it was something that came up within the last few days, even though the announcement came fewer than 24 hours before the Saints begin training camp.
Loomis was also very complimentary of Mathieu and what he brought to the organization for three years.
Mathieu is sure to elicit consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and is officially on the clock with him stepping away. Over four teams, he was a three-time First-Team All-Pro, in addition to making three Pro Bowls. He won a Super Bowl in the 2019 season with the Kansas City Chiefs and was named by the Pro Football Hall of Fame to its All-Decade Team for the 2010s.
Known for being a playmaker, Mathieu generated plenty of game-changing plays during his dozen NFL seasons. His 36 interceptions were the second-most among active players, trailing Harrison Smith’s 37, while the Honey Badger also registered 11 sacks, eight fumble recoveries and seven forced fumbles. His four interceptions returned for touchdowns were third-most among active players at the conclusion of the 2024 season.
Perhaps one of Mathieu’s greatest abilities was, simply, his availability. He started all 17 games in each of the last three seasons, making him one of the few NFL players to have that distinction. He played in at least 15 games in every season since 2017, with his 130 games played over that span trailed only Kevin Byard’s 131 among defensive players.
Playing the last three seasons in New Orleans was a homecoming for Mathieu, who was born and raised in the Crescent City. Prior to the Saints, he spent three years with the Chiefs (2019–21), winning a Super Bowl, losing another, and advancing to the AFC Championship Game in all three years.
Mathieu also spent a lone season with the Houston Texans (2018) after beginning his pro career with a five-year stint with the Arizona Cardinals (2013-17). He was a third-round pick out of LSU by the Cardinals, who deployed him all over the field, ranging from cornerback to nickelback to safety, with the last of those being what would become his primary position.
While at LSU, Mathieu was an All-American and earned the Honey Badger nickname both for the blond patch of hair he had at the time, in addition for his tendency to battle against much bigger opponents. He scored four touchdowns (two fumble recoveries, two punt returns) in the 2011 season, which resulted in him finishing fifth in Heisman voting.
Last year, LSU Football named its players’ lounge after the former Tiger great, with it now known as the Tyrann Mathieu Players’ Lounge.
As for his most recent team, the Saints now have a huge hole in their secondary, though they did add two-time Super Bowl champion Justin Reid to their safety group in the offseason. Like Mathieu, Reid is also a Louisiana native who, coincidentally, also previously played for both the Chiefs and Texans.
The Saints drafted safety Jonas Sanker in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but he was expected to be a reserve behind Mathieu and Reid as a rookie. He’s now in line to start, and the team also has J.T. Gray, who was an All-Pro as a special teamer in 2024 but played just 39 defensive snaps all season.
