‘I see it every day’: Bo Levi Mitchell visualizes retiring if Hamilton Tiger-Cats win Grey Cup in 2025

Courtesy: CFL

Bo Levi Mitchell can envision retiring after the 2025 season if the Hamilton Tiger-Cats win the Grey Cup.

“I see it every day,” the 35-year-old told 3DownNation when asked about the possibility. “Every day when I’m working out, it’s the picture I’m seeing, absolutely.”

The 12-year veteran is coming off one of the best statistical seasons of his career, throwing for 5,451 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions in his second season in Hamilton. Despite the team missing the playoffs, that was enough for Mitchell to earn the East Division nomination for Most Outstanding Player.

“It’s amazing to see what he did last year. It’s amazing to see how he’s approaching this year. I feel like he’s approaching it even harder this year. I think he’s gonna continue to do great things,” three-time CFL all-star receiver Tim White said.

In an era where several star pivots have played into their fourth decade, the Katy, Tex. native remains in some of the best shape of his life. However, while repeating his statistical success from 2024 remains a goal, the amount he values playing longevity has changed over the years.

“When I looked at that early on in my career, it was chasing [Anthony] Calvillo, Ricky [Ray], and Henry [Burris], that longevity of how they played the game,” Mitchell explained. “I have a very close memory of Henry going out on top against me, Ricky going out on top against me. I’ve always envisioned myself going out on top, winning a championship and being able to walk off into the sunset that way. Not necessarily a list of passing yards or touchdowns or MOPs or anything like that, but being able to walk off with the last game you played being a win.”

Mitchell was on the losing sideline when Burris won his final game in 2016, a Grey Cup victory over his Calgary Stampeders. The following year, Ray also upset Mitchell and the Stamps to collect his final championship, though he did not hang up his cleats after the game. That proved to be a mistake, as he spent his final year in street clothes after suffering a serious neck injury during a rematch with Calgary in Week 2.

That same season, Mitchell captured his second Most Outstanding Player award and his second Grey Cup ring with the Stampeders, but he has faced adversity in the years since. Injuries played a factor in him lose the starting job in Calgary and leaving the only team he had ever known for a fresh start in Hamilton. After an inauspicious and injury-plagued first campaign in 2023, Mitchell eventually proved he could still be an elite passer after being forced to take a sizeable pay cut.

Mitchell renegotiated his deal this offseason to include fewer performance incentives and more hard money in 2025. He’s scheduled to become a free agent after the season is done. While his love for football hasn’t faded, he has no plans to finish his career anywhere but Steeltown.

“I’m at the point in my career where I still enjoy working out, I still enjoy getting hit, I still enjoy playing football and the grind of it. But I think of wanting to go out on top and doing the right thing, I don’t know if I envision myself going and playing for another team,” Mitchell confessed. “I always said that after Calgary, I wanted to play with one more team, whether that’s three years, ten years, five years, whatever it might be. Let that run its course and try to win the championship.”

Items that are no longer on his vision board include statistical milestones. Mitchell sits 12th all-time in CFL history with 39,023 career passing yards entering the 2025 season. He’ll almost certainly surpass Tom Clements in Week 1, with Tracy Ham, Doug Flutie, and Matt Dunigan all reasonably passable if he can sustain his level of performance from 2024. That does not seem to matter for the future Hall of Famer at this stage in his career.

“Six, seven years ago, I was chasing Anthony. That was in my mind. I had it written down as a goal. 20 years, 4,000 yards a year, 80,000 yards  — that’s how to get there. Then when the injuries happen, you quickly realize that it is insane what Anthony Calvillo did. To be able to put 80,000 yards up in professional football, have that kind of career and that longevity, be with some amazing great coaches, but the consistent play he kept for so long — it’s miraculous,” Mitchell said.

“You look at the other guys on that list, Damon [Allen], Matt [Dunigan], a lot of guys up there, Ricky [Ray] and everybody — it’s gonna be awesome to land wherever I land. I’m a part of a great group and a great echelon of people that have been in this league and played quarterback. I don’t know how high I’ll climb, but wherever it ends up being, it’ll be a special one.”

Regardless of his final statistical tally, Mitchell has established himself as one of the three-down league’s all-time greats and will have other opportunities once he decides to step away. He has consistently expressed his desire to be a broadcaster and confirmed there were discussions with outgoing TSN executive producer Paul Graham about that possibility. However, he feels no rush to enter the studio, believing those doors will open naturally when he’s ready.

“I’ve only tried panel. I think doing the Tom Brady and Tony Romo route of colour would be fun, I definitely want to try it. I’ve never taken broadcast journalism or anything like that, I would love to take a class and actually get taught the proper things that I need to be looking for and paying attention to. But I mean, talking to him football, I can do it all day,” Mitchell said.

What continues to motivate Mitchell is ending his playing career by hoisting the Grey Cup trophy for a third and final time. In so doing, he would break the longest active championship drought in the CFL and give the Ticats the team’s first title since 1999. Though he believes some of the narratives around the drought are overplayed, he thinks ending it would be a perfect final chapter for him.

“Do I care that the drought is there? Of course, that’s why I came here,” he admitted. “I wanted to be the guy that helped bring that Grey Cup to the city, to be the first one in the 2000s to make it happen. To me, that’s how you leave a legacy — do things that have not been done for a long time. Everybody in the building feels the same way.”