Tom Brady says he’s retiring ‘for good’ after storied NFL career

Washington, Feb 1 (EFE).- Legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady, regarded by many as the greatest player in his sport’s history, announced Wednesday that he is retiring and will not change his mind this time.

The announcement by the 45-year-old all-time great of American football comes a year after he said he was hanging up his cleats but then reversed his decision and returned to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a 23rd season.

“Good morning guys. I’ll get to the point, right away. I’m retiring for good,” Brady, winner of a record seven Super Bowl titles, six of them with the New England Patriots, said in an emotional short video uploaded to social media.

The native of San Mateo, California, added that he would not be “long-winded” on this occasion because “you only get one super-emotional retirement essay, and I used mine up last year.”

“I really thank you guys so much, to every single one of you, for supporting me: my family, my friends, my teammates, my competitors. I could go on forever. There’s too many. Thank you guys for allowing me to live my absolute dream. I wouldn’t change a thing. Love you all.”

Brady, the ex-husband of Brazilian fashion model Gisele Bundchen, made the same announcement on Feb. 1, 2022, but a month and a half later he returned to football, saying then that he “realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands” and that he had “unfinished business.”

The NFL legend’s last game was a 31-14 loss on Jan. 16 to the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL playoffs’ Wild Card Round.

Brady had a sub-par outing in which he threw for 351 yards and two touchdowns but completed just over half of his passing attempts, tossed one interception and was sacked twice.

In the post-game press conference, Brady was non-committal about his plans for next season.

“It just feels like the end of the season … I love (the Buccaneers) organization. It’s a great place to be. Thank you, everybody, for welcoming me,” he said then.

Brady, who was due to be a free agent once again in March, signed with Tampa Bay after winning the 2002, 2004, 2005, 2015, 2017 and 2019 Super Bowls as a member of the Patriots. He then led the Buccaneers to the title in his first season with his new team (2020-2021).

Thanks to his remarkable longevity, Brady holds numerous regular-season records including most wins by a starting quarterback (251), most passing yards (89,214), most passing touchdowns (649) and most Pro Bowl selections (15).

But it his performances in the playoffs are what put him on a par with any athlete in any sport, as he led his teams to a record 10 Super Bowl appearances overall and seven victories in that title game.

He also holds numerous post-season quarterback records, from most playoff wins (35), Super Bowl wins (7), most Super Bowl MVPs (5), most passing touchdowns (88) and passing yards (13,400).

In the case of each of those marks, Brady’s totals are more than or nearly double that of his closest rival.

And in fact no single NFL team’s Super Bowl title tally is as big as Brady’s individual haul as a player with two different teams.

His phenomenal success also is one of the most surprising stories in sports, considering he was never the quarterback with the strongest arm or greatest athleticism and was only the 199th player selected in the 2000 NFL Draft. EFE

pem/mc