Tom Brady is Retired: The Revised edition

Tom Brady’s football career traced an arc that bordered on mythical, ascending from sixth-round N.F.L. Draft pick, seven-time Super Bowl Champion quarterback, and worldwide celebrity. It has come to an end after two decades of unmatched brilliance in the sport.

Brady announces his retirement, announcing that he will retire if his football performance begins to decline. Brady once claimed that he was going to quit football only if he saw it as an opportunity. Still among the top in his field at 44.

His 22nd season was his best in terms of passing yards (5.3316), completions (485) as well as touchdowns (43) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They lost to the N.F.C. in divisional round. Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs.

Brady’s official declaration came three days after ESPN reported his ExitHe incited a frenzy which was initially denied his father Tom Brady Sr. as well his agent Don Yee who stated in a statement that Brady would only announce details about his future plans.

Brady claimed for decades that he wanted the game to continue until he turned 45. However, he “Let’s Go!” podcast with Jim Gray in late January, he spoke about spending more time with his wife, the supermodel Gisele Bündchen, and three children, and said he would make a decision with their input.

“I have always believed the sport of football is an ‘all-in’ proposition — if a 100% competitive commitment isn’t there, you won’t succeed, and success is what I love so much about our game,”Brady stated this in an Instagram post.

He said: “This is difficult for me to write, but here it goes: I am not going to make that competitive commitment anymore. I have loved my NFL career, and now it is time to focus my time and energy on other things that require my attention.”

After Brady’s announcement, tributes from across the N.F.L. Many tributes from across the N.F.L. flowed in after Brady’s announcement. He was thanked by the Patriots for his 20-seasons of service.

Robert K. Kraft was their owner. He stated in a statement that he had taken care of them. “the greatest respect”Brady “always will.”

“You didn’t have to be a Patriots fan to respect and appreciate his competitiveness, determination and will to win that fueled his success,”Kraft stated.

Brady’s decision to announce his retirement on his own terms underlined the control that has governed his professional life and career.

His perfectionist streak, intensity and a microprocessor of a brain enabled a player chosen by the New England Patriots with the 199th overall pick in 2000 — the seventh quarterback selected that year — to retire with three league Most Valuable Player Awards and as the N.F.L.’s career leader in touchdown passes, passing yardage and victories.

Brady finished the season with the highest career passing yardage, adding to his record. Do not try to limp around with injuries to your knees and shoulders. Brady dazzled in the pocket, and raced for his highest yards in a decade. Redefining the meaning of “possible” and breaking down stereotypes about older quarterbacksFor athletes who are aging.

According to Sports Reference, only six other quarterbacks had attempted one pass before Brady. Combined, those players — George Blanda, Steve DeBerg, Doug Flutie, Warren Moon, Earl Morrall and Vinny Testaverde — threw for 37 touchdown passes at 42 or older. In 2020, Brady threw 40 passes in his Buccaneers debut season.

Many other aspects of his life seem too imaginable to be true.

20Brady played full season as a starter and led his teams in 10 Super Bowls. In his 40s, he started three Super Bowls (three), as opposed to his 20s when he managed to squeeze in four victories. The seven Super Bowl title he won is more than any one organization. His Super Bowl M.V.P. title was awarded to him. He was selected as the Super Bowl M.V.P. five times. Only John Elway, a Denver quarterback, had started more than five Super Bowls. Only once has Brady missed the playoffs as a starter — in 2002, the season after winning his first Super Bowl, the championship that began the Patriots’ dynasty.

Brady’s stardom in some ways sprung from a fluke event. He was just New England’s backup on Sept. 23, 2001, when the starting quarterback, Drew Bledsoe, was knocked out of the second game of the season with a sheared blood vessel in his chest.

Brady and Bill Belichick formed the most successful quarterback-coach pairing in N.F.L. history, capitalizing on the Patriots’ stable infrastructure, the league’s short-passing boom and his own durability — the only games he missed because of injury came in 2008, after he tore a knee ligament in the season opener. He reveled in New England’s “Do Your Job”The Patriots’ pocket passer extraordinaire was born out of this ethos. He won six championships as well as 17 division titles.

However, even his playoff defeats are memorable. New York Giants twice stopped him in Super Bowl. The first time, in February 2008, thwarted New England’s bid for an unbeaten season. The second, in February 2012, prompted Bündchen, incensed by several dropped passes, to scoff afterward that her husband couldn’t throw and catch at the same time. Then, against the Philadelphia Eagles six years later, Brady torched the Eagles for 505 passing yards — one of his many postseason records — but lost, 41-33, after being stripped of the ball with about two minutes remaining.

The Patriots’ victory over a 25-point deficit in the third quarter to win the Super Bowl was his greatest achievement. Brady saw it as a sign of his redemption. Brady had been suspended for four games in the first season due to his involvement in Deflategate. This scandal involved underinflated footballs that were meant to provide him with an unfair advantage when he was throwing them. This situation quickly became a spectacle for the sport, and even got to federal court.

That championship, like so many other moments, reaffirmed Brady’s enduring belief in himself. Brady felt so upset that New England had not taken him earlier in the 2000 draft that Brady left California to walk after the draft ended.

Kraft met Brady just a few weeks after he was selected by the Patriots. Brady introduced himself to the team’s owner, who said he knew that Brady was their sixth-round pick from the University of Michigan.

“That’s right,” Brady replied, in Kraft’s retelling. “And I’m the best decision this organization has ever made.”

He was one of Boston’s most loved athletes, and he did not disappoint. Brady, two days shy of turning 42 and on the cusp of his 20th season in New England, agreed to a contract extension that would allow him to be a free agent following the season. He was unable to complete his final pass in Patriots uniform, which he made against the Tennessee Titans during a defeat at home.

Brady fled New England two months later after the Patriots refused to sign him to a long term contract. This move reshaped the N.F.L. landscape. The Buccaneers won six playoff games, while Brady only had one. But he was able to master a new offense and adjust to his teammates and coaches, and became the dominant player in the league, even though there were no people around. His seventh championship was won by him throwing three touchdown passes against the Kansas City Chiefs. Last February in the Buccaneers’ home stadium.

Each of Brady’s Super Bowl championships proved something, in its own way. He deserved it. It was possible for him to lead a dynasty. That he didn’t need deflated balls to win. He was over 40 and the Patriots were able to retain him. Finally, Last year that he didn’t need Belichick to win.

Even inHis two most recent championships were won. He had to be the last.Patrick Mahomes is the Kansas City quarterback BradyHe asserted his primacy. Fended offThe gradual generational shift towards quarterback.

Brady spent the last few years preparing for his next chapter. Brady co-founded TB12 Sports Wellness with Alex Guerrero as well as the media company Religion of Sports. Brady also owns the Brady Brand clothing brand. He was aware of the imminent end and created two TV series that chronicled his legacy. “Tom vs. Time”And “Man in the Arena,”

Brady didn’t want to quit football because he loves winning. excellent — the best, in fact — at doing both. He lost his final playoff game. 10It was days before the RamsIt seems strange that this is not compatible with the all-encompassing glory he has achieved.

But, look again at that final, piercing play: A Rams 30-yard field goal. The ball was snapped from Tampa Bay’s 12-yard line. T.B. 12.