Tom Brady has declared his retirement from the NFL, and this time it will be “for good.”
After 23 seasons at the top of the sport, Brady on Wednesday announced his retirement.
The 45-year-old announced the end of his brilliant career a year prior on February 1 2022 before announcing his return 40 days later.
The storied quarterback, though, has declared that his playing days are finished after playing one final season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I’ll get to the point right away. I’m retiring, for good,” he said in a video shared on his official social media channels.
“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.
“I won’t be long-winded. You only get one super emotional retirement essay and I used mine up last year.
“Thank you guys so much to every single one of you for supporting me.
“My family, my friends, my team-mates, 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.”
Tom Brady's 23-season career:
— NFL (@NFL) February 1, 2023
– 7x Super Bowl Champion
– 5x Super Bowl MVP
– 3x League MVP
– 89,214 regular season passing yards (1st all time)
– 649 regular season TDs (1st all time)
– 13,400 Playoff passing yards (1st all time)
– 88 playoff TDs (1st all time) pic.twitter.com/sW05kBRP91
Brady retires with seven Super Bowl victories to his credit, five Super Bowl MVP awards, and three NFL MVP awards (in 2007, 2010 and 2017).
He played for the New England Patriots for the first 20 seasons of his career before switching to Tampa Bay for the 2020 campaign.
Brady’s place among the all-time greats was already secure, but he provided a reminder of his abilities in 2021 by leading the Buccaneers to their first Super Bowl victory since 2003.
Only two QBs – Justin Herbert and Patrick Mahomes, who has taken the Kansas City Chiefs to another Super Bowl – threw for more yards than Brady (4,694) in the 2022 season, with the veteran tied eighth in the NFL for passing touchdowns (25).
Tampa Bay won the NFC South but lost to 31-14 to the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs on January 16.
Brady’s 649 passing TDs is a league record, way clear of Drew Brees in second place with 571, while his yards total of 89,214 is also the best of any quarterback in history.
Only four QBs have racked up more games than Brady’s 335; Morten Andersen (382), Adam Vinatieri (365), Gary Anderson (353) and Jeff Feagles (352).