Tom Brady steps out of the spotlight (for real this time)
Tom Brady in his last practice as a New England Patriot, the team where he spent 20 years of his career.
February 1, 2023
Legendary NFL Quarterback Tom Brady, widely regarded as the greatest football player of all time, has announced that he is officially retiring from football at the age of 45. Following last year’s events (in which he announced he was retiring exactly a year ago today, but unretired only 40 days later), Brady himself has said this is “for good.”
Brady’s 23-year career culminated in seven Super Bowl wins, the most of all time by an individual player, 3 MVP wins, and 5 Super Bowl MVPs. He has the most career wins, passing attempts, completions, passing touchdowns, passing yards, pass completions in a season, pass attempts in a season, and is tied for the longest touchdown pass in NFL history. He reached the Conference Championship in 70% of his seasons, meaning he was more likely to make the Conference Championship than any quarterback in history was to complete a single pass.
He was notably picked 199th in the 2000 NFL Draft, which makes his career even more impressive as he wasn’t thought of highly before coming into the league. He spent 20 years of his career with the New England Patriots, winning 6 Super Bowls, and then spent his final 3 years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, winning 1 Super Bowl.
He informed his current team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, of his decision at 6 AM today (February 1st). As of 2 weeks ago, he concluded his 23rd NFL season, meaning he has officially spent more of his life playing in the NFL than not.
Brady has multiple possible career avenues after his retirement. He signed a 10-year, $350 million contract with FOX Sports to work as an analyst as soon as he wished last summer, and he also has successful clothing, supplement, and production companies. His retirement announcement video on Twitter, a 52-second video where he plainly stated his intentions, racked up almost 250,000 likes within an hour.
Commonly referred to as the GOAT (Greatest of All Time), he is widely respected by fans, competitors, teammates, and coaches throughout the league. Tom Brady will retire as one of the most recognizable and iconic athletes in American and world history, regardless of sport.
