The 44-year-old former Bucs quarterback decides to hang up the boots after 22 seasons

By: Emmanuel Mendez

On February 1, 2022, Tom Brady announced his retirement from the NFL after 22 seasons. These 20 seasons were with the New England Patriots and the last two were spent with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Brady confirms the rumors through his social media accounts on Twitter and Instagram. His statement thanked his family, friends, teammates, and fans for the support over the years and believes it is the right time to retire. 

“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. I’ve done a lot of reflecting on the past week and have asked myself difficult questions. And I am so proud of what we have achieved. My teammates, coaches, fellow competitors, and fans deserve 100% of me, but right now, I should leave the field of play to the next generation of dedicated and committed athletes.” – Twitter @TomBrady

His last NFL game was in the playoffs this season when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took on the LA Rams in the playoffs. Unfortunately for Brady and the defending Super Bowl champions, they lost 27-30. 

Brady’s legendary longevity is what is so impressive about his career and dedication to football. At 43 years old, he became the oldest to win the Super Bowl MVP award in 2020 when he won the Super Bowl for the Bucs in his first season in Tampa Bay.

Brady will always be remembered for his performances with the New England Patriots. He is the icon and greatest quarterback for that franchise as he contributed to all six Super Bowl victories for the Patriots.

Brady appeared in a total of 10 Super Bowl appearances and won seven Super Bowls. He broke the record for the number of Super Bowl appearances and players in the NFL which many regard him as one of the greatest players in NFL history and one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.

Other records he made in the NFL were most touchdown passes with 624. According to NFL and ESPN stats, his regular-season record was 243-73 and his playoffs record was 35-12.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell regards Tom Brady as “one of the greatest to ever play in the NFL” in his statement. 

Only days after the retirement announcement, Tom Brady in the Let’s Go podcast discussed what led to his decision and if he would reconsider coming out of retirement, which was something Brady`s teammate Rob Gronkowski did back in 2020. Brady simply stated, “Never say Never”, which would hint at a possible return, but only time will tell.

Brady said that he made his decision because of family purposes. He wants to spend more time with his wife and children, which is something he didn’t have time to commit to because the game of football was too time consuming. 

In case of a possible return, the Buccaneers are prepared to bring him back as he is still not removed from the roster. According to Tampa Bay Times columnist Rick Stroud, June 1st is when the Bucs will decide to finally remove Brady from the roster to “save $24 million on the salary cap for the 2022 season.” 

The Bucs will look for a free agent in case Brady does commit to his decision to retire. 

The NFL says goodbye to arguably the greatest quarterback it has ever seen and a new era in football of new upcoming quarterbacks will begin as a result.