St Kilda veteran Nathan Brown has retired from AFL football.

After departing St Kilda’s Queensland hub for family reasons, Brown has confirmed he will be moving on in a letter to his teammates published on Wednesday by the Saints.

“It’s the right time for me now to give what I have given football for the past 14 years to my other team – my girls,” Brown wrote.

“They need their daddy and husband more than ever and there’s nothing that can be bigger than that. I thank you for understanding.”

Drafted to Collingwood at pick No.10 in the 2006 draft, Brown played 183 AFL games after making his debut in 2008 for the Magpies.

He tallied 130 games for Collingwood, including winning the 2010 premiership, before crossing to St Kilda at the end of 2016.

Brown, 31, played 53 games for the Saints but did not make a senior appearance this year.

“That is the team I’m proud to be a part of and that is a team I’m proud to leave because I know the great people within it will taste the success they deserve,” he wrote.