Legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady is retiring again.
Brady, who has played 23 NFL seasons after entering the league in 2000 as a sixth-round draft pick of the New England Patriots out of Michigan, announced his retirement Wednesday morning in a short video that he released on his social media accounts.
“Good morning, guys, I’ll get to the point right away: I’m retiring for good,” said Brady in his video. “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 played his first 20 seasons in the NFL with the Patriots. His final three were with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. For his career, Brady was 9-4 against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the regular season and 3-0 against them in the playoffs. His last game against them was a loss this past season as a member of the Buccaneers.
This latest Brady retirement announcement comes exactly one year after he announced he was retiring after the 2021 season had ended. However, he ultimately decided to unretire several weeks later to play another season, his third with the Buccaneers. He turned 45 years of age ahead of the 2022 season getting underway.
Brady and the Buccaneers managed to make the playoffs this past season as winners of the NFC South division but with a record of 8-9. They were quickly bounced from the playoffs at home by the Dallas Cowboys in the Super Wild Card Round.
For his career, Brady won seven Super Bowls and was named the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player in five of those. He was named NFL Most Valuable Player three times in total. Brady was named a First Team All-Pro three times during his career to go along with 15 total Pro Bowl designations. He passed for 89,214 yards in regular season action to go along with 649 touchdown passes and 212 interceptions. Including the playoffs, Brady compiled a career record of 286-97 as a starter.
Brady will obviously be a first-ballot Hall of Fame selection after five years away from the game.
