Now it’s official.
After 22 seasons, three MVP awards and seven Super Bowl rings with the Patriots and Buccaneers, Tom Brady announced his retirement Tuesday morning.
“I have always believed the sport of football is an ‘all-in’ proposition — if a 100% competitive commitment isn’t there, you won’t succeed and success is what I love so much about our game,” Brady wrote in an Instagram post. “There is a physical, mental, and emotional challenge EVERY single day that has allowed me to maximize my highest potential. And I have tried my very best these past 22 years. There are no shortcuts to success on the field or in life.
“This is difficult for me to write, but here it goes: I am not going to make that competitive commitment anymore. I have loved my NFL career, and now it is time to focus my time and energy on other things that require my attention.”
Reports swirled throughout this past weekend that Brady would retire. Monday night, the 44-year-old denied he had made up his mind on his “Let’s Go” SiriusXM show. Now, Brady is leaving the game as arguably the best to ever play it.
Brady was drafted as the 199th-overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, which turned out to be the greatest draft steal of all time, and in September 2001, he took over the starting quarterback job for the Patriots. By the end of that season, he had helped guide New England to its first of six Super Bowl championships.
In his 18 full seasons as the Patriots’ starter, he won fewer than 10 games only once (nine, in 2002), made 14 Pro Bowls and was first-team All-Pro three times. He was named league MVP in 2007 — a historic season in which he logged 4,806 passing yards and 50 touchdowns — as well as in 2010 and 2017.
After the 2019 season, Brady announced he would not return to the Patriots and signed a two-year deal worth $50 million to join the Buccaneers. In his first season in South Florida, Brady won his seventh Super Bowl title, defeating Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
He had one of his best statistical seasons in his final year in the league, throwing for a career-high 5,316 yards, with 43 touchdowns, in 2021. The Buccaneers, however, were bounced in the divisional round by the Super Bowl-bound Rams, despite a furious comeback attempt in the second half.
Brady had previously hinted he would consider playing until 50, but is opting to hang up his cleats at age 44. He implied his family obligations contributed to his decision: He has two children, Vivian and Benjamin, with wife Gisele Bundchen, as well as son Jack with his ex-girlfriend, actress Bridget Moynahan.
“When I met you over 15 years ago, I didn’t know the first thing about football,” Bundchen wrote in an Instagram ode to her husband. “But cheering for you and seeing you do what you love most made me learn about this wonderful game to the point that I seriously believed I knew more than the referees! We always had a special champions playlist for every drive on our way to the game. As a family, we always prayed for you, celebrated and supported you in every game, cheered every win and suffered with every loss.”
In his retirement note, Brady thanked his Buccaneers teammates, the team’s fans, the Glazer family (which own the team), general manager Jason Licht and head coach Bruce Arians. The statement did not acknowledge the Patriots, though he played a majority of his career in New England. He later acknowledged Patriots fans in a tweet.
“Thank You Patriots Nation,” he wrote. “I’m beyond grateful. Love you all.”
Among those to send Brady off was longtime rival Eli Manning, the Giants quarterback who thwarted Brady and the Patriots in two Super Bowls.
“Good luck in retirement, congratulations on an unbelievable career,” Manning said in a deadpan video posted to social media, “and I appreciate your generosity in at least sharing a few of those Super Bowls with me.”
