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The National Football League (NFL) legendary quarterback and seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady announced his retirement on Wednesday “for good” after completing 23 seasons in the NFL.
On the same day last year, 45-year-old Brady announced his retirement to later reverse his decision six weeks later, claiming he had “unfinished business”.
He was selected by the New England Patriots as the 199th pick of the 2000 draft and his seven Super Bowl wins – six with the New England Patriots and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – are the most by any player in NFL history.
Brady’s final season ended in the Bucs’ 31-14 play-off defeat last month.
Truly grateful on this day. Thank you 🙏🏻❤️ pic.twitter.com/j2s2sezvSS
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) February 1, 2023
“I’m retiring – for good,” he said in an emotional video posted on social media. “I know the process was a pretty big deal last time, so when I woke up this morning I figured I’d just press record and let you guys know first.
“It won’t be long-winded. You only get one super emotional retirement essay and I used mine up last year.
“Thank you so much to every single one of you for supporting me – my family, my friends, my team-mates, my competitors. I could go on forever – there’s too many.
“Thank you for allowing me to live my absolute dream. I wouldn’t change a thing. Love you all.”
After returning to the game last March, Brady – a three-time NFL season MVP – posted the first losing record of his career in a difficult year on and off the field.
Away from the sport, Brady and his wife of 13 years Gisele Bundchen announced their divorce in October after months of rumours.
Tampa were weakened by injuries and Brady appeared affected by off-field issues as his final season fizzled out.
Tom Brady's 23-season career:
– 7x Super Bowl Champion
– 5x Super Bowl MVP
– 3x League MVP
– 89,214 regular season passing yards (1st all time)
– 649 regular season TDs (1st all time)
– 13,400 Playoff passing yards (1st all time)
– 88 playoff TDs (1st all time) pic.twitter.com/sW05kBRP91— NFL (@NFL) February 1, 2023
Brady had a very strong dedication and commitment to winning. It was only in his final season that he showed some signs that his skills were diminishing, although even then he passed for 4,694 yards, the third most in the NFL.
Brady – heralded as American football’s GOAT (greatest of all time) – led his team to the play-offs in 20 of his 21 seasons as a starter.
He is the NFL’s all-time regular-season leader in pass attempts (12,050), completions (7,753), passing yards (89,214) and touchdown passes (649), as well as being the league’s leader in all four categories in the post-season.
No other quarterback has played in a Super Bowl after the age of 40. Brady played in three, winning two; his 35 playoff wins are more than 13 other teams have appeared in; and, remarkably, he has appeared in nearly a fifth of Super Bowls ever played.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft recalled the day Brady introduced himself by saying: “I’m Tom Brady and I’m the best decision this organisation ever made.”
Brady was correct. He started as New England’s fourth-string quarterback and slowly worked his way up to become Drew Bledsoe’s back-up.
“I think I’ve been on the record dozens of times saying there’s no quarterback I’d rather have than Tom Brady, and I still feel that way,” Bill Belichick, the coach with whom Brady won six titles in New England, said in 2021. “I was very lucky to have Tom as the quarterback, to coach him, and he was as good as any coach could ever ask for.”
The 2022-23 season was expected to be Brady’s last, at least with the Bucs – he had been linked with the Las Vegas Raiders, Tennessee Titans, San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins.
Brady is now likely to focus on his off-field interests. Last year in March, he signed a 10-year contract to become Fox Sports’ lead NFL analyst once he retired. The New York Post reported the deal is worth $375m (£300m), surpassing the $332m Brady earned in salary during his entire NFL career.
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