It’s been a busy 24 hours for Victor Cruz. On Monday, August 20, the 31-year-old attended the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards alongside girlfriend Karrueche Tran. And just hours later, he announced he’s retiring from professional football to become an NFL analyst for ESPN.
The wide receiver broke the news in a video for YouTube series Uninterrupted and reflected on his journey so far. “The game of football has given me so much,” he said in the video. “As soon as I got on that practice field, as soon as I put on those pads and that uniform and started playing, it was a place of zen for me … This last chapter of my life was a great one, obviously — to win the Super Bowl, to play in the Pro Bowl, to have my daughter be born throughout all of this, as well.”
Cruz elaborated on the transition in a statement provided to ESPN: “As I officially close one chapter of my life and begin another, I could not be more thrilled to join another championship team at ESPN. I’m excited to get started and share my insight and analysis with the viewers and fans of the NFL.”
The New Jersey native joined the New York Giants in 2010 and helped them win Super Bowl XLVI in 2012. After tearing his patellar tendon in 2014 and the fascia in his left calf the following year, he missed the 2015 season. The Giants released Cruz in February 2017, and though he signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Bears afterward, the Bears released him that September.
In December 2017, Us Weekly exclusively confirmed that Cruz — who shares a 6-year-old daughter with ex Elaina Watley — was dating Tran, 30.
“He’s so sweet, like a really nice guy. He’s genuinely kind, and it’s so refreshing to be with such a kind, great guy,” the model told Us in May. “And it doesn’t hurt that his body is bangin’!”
