It's official: Tom Brady Announces NFL Retirement with IG Statement originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Tom Brady is retiring from the NFL.
Source: Tom Brady.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback officially announced his NFL retirement Tuesday morning, sharing a lengthy statement on his Instagram and Twitter accounts.
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Brady's announcement ends any speculation he'll return for a 23rd NFL season. ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington reported Saturday that the 44-year-old QB plans to retire, but Brady and his camp pushed back against those reports, with the QB reportedly telling the Buccaneers at the time that he was nowhere near a decision about his future.
Brady also suggested Monday night on the "Let's Go" podcast with Jim Gray he'd take some time to make a decision, but it appears he need less than 12 hours to end his career on his own terms.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback has made 10 Super Bowl appearances, 15 Pro Bowls, three MVP awards and countless other records.
Brady, who spent the first 20 years of his career with the New England Patriots, had said for years that he planned on playing until he was 45.
Brady, who turns 45 on Aug. 3, has already outlasted every player from his own draft class in 2000, when he was drafted 199th overall by the Patriots in Bill Belichick’s first season. He’s also outlasted every player drafted in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
Brady led the league in both passing yards (5,316) and passing touchdowns (43) in 2021, the second time in his career he's led the NFL in both categories in the same season (2007).
A member of the Hall of Fame all-decades teams from both the 2000s and 2010s, Brady retires as the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards (84,520), passing touchdowns (624) and completed passes (7,263). Brady retires after 47 career playoff games, most all-time and 15 more than the next-closest player in former Patriots teammate Adam Vinatieri. His 318 regular season appearances are seventh-most all-time.
PHOTOS: Tom Brady Through the Years
Brady had been attempting to lead the Buccaneers to back-to-back Super Bowl titles, something no team had accomplished since Brady’s Patriots in 2003-04.
Over 285 appearances with New England, including 283 starts, Brady went 219-64, plus 30-11 in the postseason and 6-3 in Super Bowls. He won MVP honors with the Patriots in 2007, 2010 and 2017, though didn't win the Super Bowl in any of those seasons. Brady was MVP in Super Bowls XXXVI, XXXVIII, XLIX and LI with New England and LV in Tampa Bay.
