Fred Jackson thanks Buffalo as he retires a member of the Buffalo Bills

Former Buffalo Bills running back Fred Jackson is signing a one-day contract with the team Wednesday so he can officially retire a member of the Bills organization.

Jackson spent nine years in Buffalo and is the team's third all-time leading rusher.

Before his official retirement, Jackson wrote a letter thanking the fans and the city as reported by BuffaloBills.com.

I think I pretty much made it known in recent months that my desire was to retire as a Buffalo Bill, but as was typically the case during my career, the fans had a hand in convincing me to end my NFL career as a Bill. You told me to come back and do a one-day contract as a Bills player so to be able to do that and show you it meant the same to me as it does to you is a blessing.

There were times over the last couple of years where I held out hope for that phone call for another chance in the NFL, but being 37-years old has a lot to do with me being at peace with my NFL career. The older you get the more you realize that you can’t do some of the stuff you’d have to do to play at a high level in the NFL. The older you get the more that realization starts to set in.

Being able to see my kids do as much stuff I’ve been able to watch them do the last couple of years with my time freed up has also helped me to validate this decision and move on to this next stage in life. Just watching them grow up in all their sports, it’s something I get a chance to do now and I look forward to doing it more often.

Looking back on my 10 seasons in the NFL, I’d have to say if someone told me back in 2005 that I’d get 10 years in the league, it would have far exceeded my expectations then.

You can read the entire letter from Fred Jackson at buffalobills.com.