Exactly a year after he last announced his retirement, NFL great Tom Brady has once again called time on his incredible career.
The 45-year-old Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback released a video on Twitter saying he was “retiring for good” from the sport he has played for 23 seasons.
Brady spent 20 trophy-filled campaigns with the New England Patriots, winning six Super Bowl titles, before joining Tampa Bay and leading the Bucs to a championship in 2021.
One year ago, Brady made the announcement that he was ending his career saying it was “time to focus my time and energy on other things that require my attention” and leaving the sport having won five Super Bowl Most Valuable Player awards.
But just over a month later, Brady reversed that decision. “These past two months I've realised my place is still on the field and not in the stands … I'm coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business LFG,” said Brady on his official Twitter account.
In January, the Buccaneers fell to a dispiriting 31-14 loss to the visiting Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card Round, despite having earned a home game to start the postseason with their second consecutive NFC South title.
It was a humbling defeat that left Brady saying: “That's not the way we wanted to end it. I give them a lot of credit – they played a good game. They made a lot more plays than we did. So, rough night.
“I'm going to go home and get a good night's sleep, as much as I can tonight. There's been a lot of focus on this game. One day at a time, truly.”
And now Brady has decided that the time is right to end his career. “Good morning, guys, I’ll get to the point right away: I’m retiring for good,” he said on Wednesday.
“I know the process was a pretty big deal last time, so when I woke up this morning I figured I’d just press record and let you guys know first. So I won’t be long-winded.
“I think you only get one super emotional retirement essay, and I used mine up last year. So, really, thank you guys, so much, to every single one of you, for supporting me. My family, my friends, teammates, my competitors, I could go on forever, there’s too many. Thank you, guys, for letting me live my absolute dream. I wouldn’t change a thing. Love you all.”
Brady is the NFL’s career leader in yards passing (89,214) and touchdowns (649). He’s the only player to win more than five Super Bowls and has been MVP of the game five times.
Brady has won three NFL MVP awards, been a first-team All-Pro three times and selected to the Pro Bowl 15 times.
It was announced last year that when Brady retires from playing, he would join Fox Sports as a television analyst in a 10-year, $375 million deal.
