After 11 seasons in the Canadian Football League, veteran long snapper Jorgen Hus has officially announced his retirement from professional football. The 36-year-old, who spent the majority of his career with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, made the announcement on Thursday during a press conference at Mosaic Stadium, surrounded by teammates, coaches, and family.
A Decade of Dedication
Hus, originally drafted by the Edmonton Eskimos in the fourth round of the 2013 CFL Draft, was traded to Saskatchewan in 2015 in exchange for receiver Corey Watson. Over the next 11 years, he became a cornerstone of the Roughriders' special teams unit, appearing in 167 regular-season games and 10 playoff contests. His tenure culminated in a Grey Cup victory in 2025, when the Roughriders defeated the Montreal Alouettes 25-17 in Winnipeg.
"It's a pretty surreal moment," Hus said during the press conference. "I started playing this game 23, 24 years ago with my brother in the backyard and on the street, just running routes and all that. And fast forward 23 years, and here we are leaving the game as a Grey Cup champion. It's pretty wild."
Difficult Decision
Hus admitted that the decision to retire was not easy, even after knowing that the 2025 season would likely be his last. "During last season, I knew that it was probably going to be my last year," he explained. "I was pretty sure after Winnipeg that was the last (game) but you never know. And it's easy to say then, but then when it gets down to it, it gets harder. February and March were tough months to really make that decision."
Ultimately, Hus felt that the time was right. "It's been a long, fun career. It's been over a decade. We won the Grey Cup. We're champs. My cup is full. So, it was the right decision to make."
Off-Field Impact
Beyond his on-field accomplishments, Hus was recognized for his character and community involvement. In 2024, he was awarded the Jake Gaudaur Veterans' Award, which honors a Canadian CFL player who best demonstrates the attributes of Canada's Veterans: strength, perseverance, courage, comradeship, and contribution to Canadian communities. Hus also served as a player ambassador for the Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation, regularly visiting schools across the province to promote literacy and mental health.
"I'm a true believer that none of this would have happened if it wasn't for family and community," Hus said, thanking his former coaches, teammates, and especially his brother, who caught tens of thousands of snaps to help him get noticed. "The amount of support that he gave and my family going down to the states to do one-on-one lessons for long snapping, because nobody really knew what they were talking about."
Early Beginnings
Hus's journey to the CFL began in Saskatoon, where he played high school football for the St. Joseph Guardians. He later suited up for the Saskatoon Hilltops junior team and the University of Regina Rams before earning tryouts with NFL teams such as the St. Louis Rams, Seattle Seahawks, and Kansas City Chiefs. Interestingly, Hus started his football career as a linebacker and only began long snapping in Grade 10 after his high school coach asked him to fill the role.
"We didn't have anybody on the team at the time that did it, and our high school coach just said, 'You're up; you've got to do it. Figure it out,'" he recalled. "So I did it through high school. Grade 12, we had someone else do it; I wasn't good enough to be the starter, and then I really took it seriously when I started playing with the Hilltops."
An ACL injury in 2007 or 2008 proved to be a turning point. "The first thing I could do (in rehab) was start learning how to snap. So I watched a lot of videos, learned of some coaches down the states that I could go visit when I was a little bit healthier, and then kind of just stuck with that, and then got attention from the Rams, and it kind of just took off from there."
Legacy
Hus leaves the game as the longest-serving member of the Roughriders from last season and a Grey Cup champion. His consistency and reliability as a long snapper made him a fan favorite in Saskatchewan. As he embarks on the next chapter of his life, working as a mortgage broker in Saskatoon, Hus can look back on a career defined by perseverance, community, and championship glory.
