Tom Brady retires after 22 seasons, 7 Super Bowl titles

By Rob Maaddi And Arnie Stapleton
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tom Brady walked away from the NFL on his own terms, still at the top of his game.

Brady, the most successful quarterback in league history and one of the greatest champions in professional sports, has retired after winning seven Super Bowls and setting numerous passing records in an unprecedented 22-year career.

“This is difficult for me to write, but here it goes: I am not going to make that competitive commitment anymore,” Brady wrote in a lengthy post on Instagram. “I have loved my NFL career, and now it is time to focus my time and energy on other things that require my attention.”

The 44-year-old Brady has long stated his desire to spend more time with his wife, supermodel Gisele Bundchen, and three children despite his unique ability to perform exceptionally well at an age when most athletes are way past their prime.

Brady goes out after leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title last season and NFC South championship this season.

News of Brady’s pending retirement leaked Saturday but he said Monday night on his SiriusXM podcast he wasn’t ready to finalize his plans.

That came Tuesday morning.

“Right now, it’s best I leave the field of play to the next generation of dedicated and committed athletes,” Brady said.

Brady thanked the Buccaneers organization, his teammates, ownership, general manager Jason Licht, coach Bruce Arians, his trainer Alex Guerrero, agents Don Yee and Steve Dubin and his family in his nine-page post. He didn’t mention the New England Patriots, where he spent his first 20 seasons and won six Super Bowls playing for Bill Belichick. But Brady thanked the Patriots and their fans on Twitter, saying: “I’m beyond grateful. Love you all.”

Brady said he’s still figuring out how he’ll spend his time, but he plans to be involved in his TB12 health and wellness company, Brady clothing line and NFT company.

“I know for sure I want to spend a lot of time giving to others and trying to enrich other people’s lives, just as so many have done for me,” he said.

Brady led the NFL in yards passing (5,316), touchdowns (43), completions (485) and attempts (719) in 2021, but the Buccaneers lost at home to the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round.

Brady leaves as the career leader in yards passing (84,520) and TDs (624). He’s the only player to win more than five Super Bowls and was MVP of the game five times.

Brady won three NFL MVP awards, was a first-team All-Pro three times and was selected to the Pro Bowl 15 times. He was 243-73 in his career in the regular season and 35-12 in the playoffs.

“To finish a 22-year career while still performing at his peak was nothing short of extraordinary,” Licht said. “I wish we had more time with Tom, but I understand and respect his decision to leave the game in order to spend more time with his family.”

Brady went from 199th pick in the 2000 draft to replacing an injured Drew Bledsoe in 2001 and leading New England to a Super Bowl victory over the heavily favored Rams that season.

He led the Patriots to consecutive Super Bowl titles following the 2003-04 seasons. No team has since repeated as champions.

But New England wouldn’t win another one for a decade, twice losing to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl, including a 17-14 defeat on Feb. 3, 2008, that prevented the Patriots from completing a perfect season.

Brady earned his fourth ring after the 2014 season. Two years later, in the biggest Super Bowl comeback, he led the Patriots out of a 28-3 deficit in the third quarter against Atlanta to win in overtime for No. 5. Brady got his sixth championship when New England beat the Rams following the 2018 season.

He joined the Buccaneers in 2020 amid a pandemic, instantly transforming a franchise that hadn’t won a playoff game in 18 years. His buddy Rob Gronkowski came out of retirement to join him and they helped the Buccaneers become the first team to play in a Super Bowl in its stadium.

“He set a standard and helped create a culture that took our team to the mountaintop,” Arians said.

Brady reached the playoffs 19 times, won 18 division titles, went 10-4 in conference championships and 7-3 in Super Bowls.

After starting his first game on Sept. 30, 2001, Brady was under center for every game except when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 1 in 2008 and the first four games in 2016 when he sat out a suspension because of the deflated footballs scandal.

“An incredible competitor and leader, his stellar career is remarkable for its longevity but also for the sustained excellence he displayed year after year,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.

Known for his work ethic, intense exercise regimen and strict diet, Brady was better with age.

After turning 37, Brady won four Super Bowls and was 17-4 in the playoffs. He was 95-30, completed 65.2 percent of his passes for 35,371 yards, 265 TDs and 69 interceptions in the regular season in those eight seasons.

“I have always believed the sport of football is an ‘all-in’ proposition — if a 100 percent competitive commitment isn’t there, you won’t succeed, and success is what I love so much about our game,” Brady said. “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.”

Brady’s legacy lives onTom Brady’s retirement at age 44 leaves the NFL without its iconic quarterback, best player, biggest star and fiercest competitor.

With Brady deciding to focus on his family instead of football, the league loses a giant who flourished in a perfect storm of rules changes designed to protect passers, an increased focus on nutrition and personal offseason training and a dogged determination to thwart both logic and time.

Brady only got better with age and redefined greatness in an unparalleled career that seemed like it might go on forever.

And yet, it some ways he’s not leaving us at all.

You’ll see his imprint on the NFL whenever you tune into a football game, beginning with the Super Bowl on Feb. 13.

Like other young quarterbacks including Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Dak Prescott and Lamar Jackson, Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow came of age in the shadow of Brady’s brilliance.

“And I guarantee you these young guys, they all admired something in Tom Brady that they attempted to put into their own game,” said Brady’s former teammate and cornerback Aqib Talib. “Whether it was his throwing motion, his competitiveness or how he took care of his body, some aspect of their game has something to do with Tom Brady.

“If you’re an NFL quarterback anywhere from 20 to 30 years old right now, man you got a piece of Tom Brady in you, guaranteed.”

That’s why “the NFL is itself is going to be fine,” concurred Hall of Famer Champ Bailey, whose 100-yard interception return handed Brady his first loss in 11 playoff games back in 2006.

“But I think what we’re gonna miss is that level of consistency, professionalism, and nobody did it better,” Bailey said. “I think a lot has to do with how he was raised. You know, it was him as a kid, his mindset, being around Bill Belichick and his mindset.

“And it’s crazy how he had an MVP season and he’s retiring. It’s almost like Kobe hitting 60 and going out.”

The last NFL player born in the 1970s went out on top — he’s the defending Super Bowl champion the Bengals or Rams hoist the Lombardi Trophy in wo weeks.

Just think, Brady could already have a bust in Canton had he retired in his late 30s like his chief rival Peyton Manning did. But Brady went 70-24 in his 40s, winning his sixth Super Bowl with the Patriots and seventh one with the Buccaneers.

Brady led the NFL in yards passing (5,316), touchdown throws (43), completions (485) and attempts (719) in 2021, but the Buccaneers lost at home to the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round.

While the young quarterbacks try to forge their own legacy with Brady no longer in their way, it’s a safe bet none will come close to his seven Super Bowl rings because there are so many good quarterbacks in his wake.

“I really do believe he’s above the standard,” Bailey said. “I don’t see how a quarterback in the future would be more accomplished than he is. But the NFL will be fine. We got some great young talent and I’m sure Tom Brady would even say it himself. That divisional round was an unbelievable weekend of football.

“And it just goes to show you the quarterback talent is still there and probably even better than before,” Bailey said. “And the funny thing is these guys all grew up watching Tom Brady. If these dudes do half of what he did it’s a tremendous career.”

It’s not like it was all give and no take with Brady, who also took something from the vanguard of young quarterbacks coming into the league the last few years.

He embraced social media and endorsement opportunities he shunned earlier in his career, showing the public a softer, humorous, often sarcastic side that endeared him to millions who had always associated him with the scowling Belichick.

He became more beloved across the league much like Manning had in the twilight of his career that featured an epic 17 matchups with Brady.

“I think everybody enjoyed the old Tom Brady more than the young one,” Bailey said. “What he did toward the end of his career was he engaged his fans. I think that’s what was missing from a young Tom Brady. He was in this box and he never really came out.

“Now, I think that made him who he was, but his engagement level with fans increased 1 million percent in the past few years. And people really got to know him, saw he was hilarious at times. People appreciate you more when they can see you relaxed and having a good time.”

Like when he tossed the Lombardi Trophy from one boat to another boat in the Bucs’ Super Bowl celebration last year.

“I always knew Tom Brady was like that. He’s sarcastic just like his social network was. That’s his real personality. Yeah, just super sarcastic, super fun,” Talib said.

“If you wanted to create the ultimate football player, you would create him just like Tom Brady.”