Tom Brady, one of the world’s most awarded professional athletes and widely considered the greatest player in NFL history, announced his retirement on Wednesday. This time is always good.
“I’ll cut to the chase,” Brady, who just finished his 23rd season, said in a short video posted on social media. “I’m retiring. For good.
Brady, 45, is out of the league with seven Super Bowl titles, an NFL record, and ranks near the top of nearly every major passing statistics category. He was the oldest active player in the NFL this season and still played at an elite level to the end.
Brady is retiring after his third season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, an event that once looked as if it wasn’t going to happen: Brady also announced on Feb. 17. On January 1, 2022, he announced his retirement, but less than six weeks later he reversed his decision and returned to the game. The season was his worst as a pro — the team finished 8-9 and lost to the Dallas Cowboys in the wild-card round of the playoffs. But Brady finished third in the league with 4,694 passing yards while completing 66.8 percent of his passes.
This season takes place against the backdrop of a stressful time in his personal life. Brady and supermodel Gisele Bündchen, who had been married for more than 13 years, announced their divorce in October.
He is expected to take on the broadcaster role after reportedly signing a 10-year, $375 million deal with Fox Sports in 2022. Brady also runs several businesses: TB12 Sports, a health and wellness company he founded with longtime coach Alex Guerrero; Religion of Sports, a media company; and Brady Brands apparel line .
Brady joined the Buccaneers in 2020 and led Tampa Bay to a Super Bowl championship in his first year with the team. To that end, he left the New England Patriots, the team he had played for his entire career. After spending 20 years in New England and winning six world championships, Brady failed to agree on new contract terms, and the team let him leave as an unrestricted free agent.
The Patriots selected Brady in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He earned the starting quarterback job midway through his sophomore season in 2001, replacing the injured Drew Bledsoe and led New England to its first Super Bowl title that season. Brady has been linked to coach Bill Belichick throughout his career in New England, as the pair shaped a dynasty in the league. The Patriots have won six Super Bowls, tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most titles among NFL teams, and have also participated in nine Super Bowls and 13 AFC championship games.
But his career in New England also faces challenges. In 2015, the NFL suspended Brady for five games after investigating whether the team deliberately held down the football to gain an advantage in the 2015 AFC Championship Game. Brady was suspended for four games for “general knowledge” of the scandal known as Deflategate.
Brady, who appeared to fumble against the Oakland Raiders in a playoff game before his first Super Bowl win, is also the face of the so-called “tuck rule,” which states that if four The shooting back loses control of the ball when his arm completes an intentional forward movement, and the play should be ruled an incomplete pass rather than a fumble.