‘Time flies when you’re having fun’

Adam Bighill opened his retirement press conference by speaking for nearly 15 minutes straight on his unlikely path to becoming one of the CFL’s all-time greats.

“I grew in small town Washington. I grew up with a cleft lip palate. I grew up with a chip on my shoulder. I grew up in a great family with great parents,” the 37-year-old began.

“And I grew up with a dream. At seven years old, I told my parents I wanted to play professional football. Back then, my favourite player was Jerry Rice, and I was just all in on what it was going to take to be a professional athlete.”

It was an uphill battle from the start, but Bighill always remained undeterred. He was a star running back and linebacker at Montesano High School, but it didn’t seem to matter — scouts and coaches had labelled him as too small and too slow to make it at the next level.

Without any NCAA Division I offers, he had to go the Division II route and commit to Central Washington where he went on to be named the conference’s co-defensive player of the year as a senior.

“I just thought if you’re good enough, they’ll find you, and I continued working my butt off,” said Bighill.

“So many people didn’t think I could play college football, let alone professional football.”

He continued to have critics in the CFL when he made his professional debut in 2011 as a member of the B.C. Lions.

“I show up in training camp and start making some plays, making some noise, and the first thing a reporter says to me, ‘Well, we’re surprised you’re here after this first game. We thought you’d be an early round cut, but you made some plays, so, tell us more,’” recalled Bighill, who won a Grey Cup with the Lions as a rookie.

“I was just shocked that was the first thing they thought about when they saw me because that’s not how I saw myself — I saw myself as (someone who’s) gonna be one of the best to ever play the game.

“Fast forward and here we are 15 years later.”

After six seasons with the Lions — highlighted by a 2015 campaign where he was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player — Bighill spent 2017 with the NFL’s New Orleans Saints where he played in three games. Eager to return to the CFL the following year, he took a chance and signed a deal with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

He would go on to win a pair of Grey Cups (2019 and 2021) and two more MODP awards (2018 and 2021) in his six seasons (2018-2024) in Blue and Gold, establishing himself as one of the most dominant and beloved players in franchise history.

“This is the most fun I had playing professional football in my life,” said Bighill.

“We should have won more, we all know that, but we won back-to-back and went to five (Grey Cups) in a row, and that was something special.”

The six-time CFL all-star and his family have also been living full-time in Winnipeg for several years and continue to do so today.

His wife Kristina and their three children — A.J., Leah and Beau — were standing off to the side inside the media room at Princess Auto Stadium on Tuesday. Head coach Mike O’Shea, Bombers president and CEO Wade Miller, and former safety Brandon Alexander were also there to show their support.

“I never thought I’d be in Canada. Growing up, I was only three and a half hours away and I had never been to Canada in my life until I came to play in the CFL,” said Bighill.

“You don’t know where life’s going to take you. When the opportunity in Winnipeg came, I didn’t know what was coming. But all I can say is, what we’ve built here and the journey we’ve had to be at this point has been absolutely incredible.”

The Bombers announced Monday that Bighill was signing a one-day contract to officially retire as a member of the club. He tore his ACL in the 2024 Labour Day Classic in Regina, and the team parted ways with him that off-season.

Not ready to hang up his cleats, Bighill ended up joining the Calgary Stampeders in 2025 and played in six games.

“Credit to Kristina to holding it all down with three kids and I’m gone and not one word of, ‘Hey, I don’t think you should do it because it’s too hard on me,’” he said.

“Totally selfless on her and it speaks to everything she is as a strong, powerful woman.”

He had offers on the table to keep playing, and even some opportunities to get into coaching, but after getting a taste of what it was like to be away from his young family, he decided it was time to step away.

“It took me a while to officially say that I was retiring,” he said. “It’s easy to say to myself but it’s hard to say to the world, if that makes sense. It took a while to get to this point but it’s something I’m definitely at peace with.”

It helps that he’s well prepared for life after football. He has poured years into starting a business, Pejovic Bighill Private Wealth, where he works as an investment advisor.

He’s often been asked if a transition to coaching could be in the cards but, at least for now, he’ll put his football IQ to good use at the amateur level.

All three of his kids are involved with flag football, and his oldest, A.J., has started playing tackle.

“I know we will be around. Me and my partners have a box here at the stadium so we will be at the games and supporting. We are Bomber fans, and we’re a Bomber family,” said Bighill.

“Whether I’ll be coaching professionally, I don’t know. I mean, I wouldn’t say anything’s off the table.”

One thing is for certain: he can expect a phone call from the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in a few years.

“I hope I’m walking away with those credentials where you’d say, ‘Yeah, he was one of the best to play the game,’” he said.

“Time flies when you’re having fun. Now I get to spend my time focusing more on my family.”

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