Read Nick Foles' Emotional Goodbye Letter To Philly

PHILADELPHIA, PA — One of the most beloved athletes in Philadelphia history is saying goodbye.

Eagles quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles, who will officially sign with the Jacksonville Jaguars this afternoon, wrote an emotional farewell to the Eagles organization and the city of Philadelphia Wednesday in The Player's Tribune.

In the letter, Foles thanked the team for drafting him, and wrote glowingly about Philadelphia and how the nature of the city encouraged him to come back as a free agent.

"The reason that I signed ultimately wasn’t a football one," Foles wrote. "It was that Tori and I were expecting our first child — our daughter, Lily. And as much as I admire the Eagles as a franchise….. I love Philadelphia as a city. I realized that this was much more than an X’s-and-O’s decision. It was a decision about what city our daughter was going to spend her first years in, and have her first memories in, and call her hometown. And there’s just something about it….. but my heart said Philly."

Sounds like another Philadelphia athlete who chose the City of Brotherly Love as his home.

Foles brought the Eagles their first Super Bowl in franchise history, and delivered countless moments of sheer magic along the way — from calling "Philly Philly" to the improbable run into the playoffs this year — cementing his place in Philadelphia sports lore forever.

>>WATCH: Nick Foles Calls Legendary 'Philly Special' In Super Bowl

Ultimately, he wrote, he came to understand just what Eagles football and the Super Bowl win meant to the city.

"As much of an honor as it’s been to play for this team and this city…… the truest privilege has been over the last year, in the time since we won the Super Bowl — having Eagles fans share their stories with me. Having them remind me of how we didn’t just win the Super Bowl; we won the Eagles’ first Super Bowl ever. Getting to hear from Philly natives about how their father, or father’s father, or mother, or mother’s mother, cried tears of happiness after the game. Learning about how, for most people, rooting for the Eagles is more than a decision — it’s a birthright."

Foles and the Jaguars are expected to announce his four year, $88 million deal — the richest in Jacksonville franchise history — when NFL free agency officially opens Wednesday afternoon.

But to Philadelphia fans, he'll always be an Eagle.