Tom Brady is retired

54thMA

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That's as genuine as it gets.

30 seconds/48 seconds; oh boy, the room got dusty twice.

What a privilege and an honor it was as a lifelong Patriots fan to see him perform here, there will never be another QB like him or a New England Patriots player I will respect and admire more than him.

Aside from a couple of magical seasons that ended in defeat prior to, he took this team from a laughing stock to a team that will never be matched regarding success, an incredible 20 year run.
 

johnmd20

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As pliable as he's proven to be, pushing 46 is still pushing 46. He would have to commit to keeping himself in playing shape, and if he was willing do that, he wouldn't retire.
It's kind of incredible that in Brady's age 45 season he played every game when like there were only 10 teams this season who didn't have to play a backup at some point due to an injury to the starter.
 

BaseballJones

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It's kind of incredible that in Brady's age 45 season he played every game when like there were only 10 teams this season who didn't have to play a backup at some point due to an injury to the starter.
Throwing as many times as he did, with as porous an offensive line as he had this year. Amazing. One of the most underrated aspects of Brady is his physical toughness.
 

johnmd20

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Throwing as many times as he did, with as porous an offensive line as he had this year. Amazing. One of the most underrated aspects of Brady is his physical toughness.
I wanted one more year.

I really thought he was going to try for one more. But I very much understand why he didn't. NFL defenses are fast and strong. And dangerous for the young, let alone 46 year olds.
 

Ralphwiggum

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I’m shocked, I definitely thought he was in for one more year. And I badly wanted one more year, but he’s obviously earned the right to make whatever decision works best for him and his family.

The undisputed GOAT. What an amazing career.
 

AlNipper49

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I’m shocked, I definitely thought he was in for one more year. And I badly wanted one more year, but he’s obviously earned the right to make whatever decision works best for him and his family.

The undisputed GOAT. What an amazing career.
I wanted the opposite. The story would be about the spectacle of Tom Brady going somewhere rather than just rooting for Tom Brady. While he's the polar opposite of an everyman, he was always relatable as far as popular athletes go.
 

8slim

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I have not enjoyed Brady playing as a Buc. I would not have enjoyed him playing in 2023 with another team.

I've been selfish and I don't care. The guy *IS* New England football, and I fell in football love with him after his 3rd or 4th start here 22 years ago.

I really just wanted my Tom back and I feel like retirement is the only way that will happen.
 

tims4wins

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I have not enjoyed Brady playing as a Buc. I would not have enjoyed him playing in 2023 with another team.

I've been selfish and I don't care. The guy *IS* New England football, and I fell in football love with him after his 3rd or 4th start here 22 years ago.

I really just wanted my Tom back and I feel like retirement is the only way that will happen.
Yes to all this.

It was his 3rd start, against San Diego in the rain.
 

snowmanny

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Had a couple vintage comebacks this year, which were fun. Glad for him.

I feel so lucky to have had that Patriots run during my lifetime, what a blast as a fan.

But I don't think I've ever wanted a title more for a player or a coach/manager than I wanted that fourth one for Brady and Belichick. All the fucking crap they got.....over nothing. It really did feel like us against the world for a little while.

edit- never played a game with his team out of contention
 

sezwho

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I wanted one more year.

I really thought he was going to try for one more. But I very much understand why he didn't. NFL defenses are fast and strong. And dangerous for the young, let alone 46 year olds.
Sounded sincere, and I’m sure he was in the moment. Still think it’s 50-50 next year.
 

8slim

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Yes to all this.

It was his 3rd start, against San Diego in the rain.
I know he had a couple rough outings after that, but watching him play I just immediately *trusted* him to make the right play. I spent the prior few years not trusting Bledsoe at all.
 

Ralphwiggum

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I have not enjoyed Brady playing as a Buc. I would not have enjoyed him playing in 2023 with another team.

I've been selfish and I don't care. The guy *IS* New England football, and I fell in football love with him after his 3rd or 4th start here 22 years ago.

I really just wanted my Tom back and I feel like retirement is the only way that will happen.
The one thing I will say is that if he ended up on the Dolphins or Jets that would have been really difficult, so I am glad that didn’t happen. But, as much as I wished he could have retired as a Patriot, I still enjoyed watching him play football, even for the Bucs.

I do hope they can now properly honor him in Foxboro at the appropriate time, though.
 

johnmd20

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Sounded sincere, and I’m sure he was in the moment. Still think it’s 50-50 next year.
I don't know. If he comes back after retirement for a 2nd time, it would start to become a little pathetic.

If he wasn't sure, he could have waited. He didn't need to retire now. He could have waited until March. He came back last year on March 13th. So if he wasn't sure, why not wait?

I would love to see more Tom Brady but it would be embarrassing if he unretired again.
 

Mystic Merlin

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I don't know. If he comes back after retirement for a 2nd time, it would start to become a little pathetic.

If he wasn't sure, he could have waited. He didn't need to retire now. He could have waited until March. He came back last year on March 13th. So if he wasn't sure, why not wait?

I would love to see more Tom Brady but it would be embarrassing if he unretired again.
Agreed. I think he’s been resigned to retirement for a bit, ie, I don’t think he just woke up and said ‘fuck it!’ The scene at the end of the Cowboys game, with him hugging his crying parents on the field and Brady thanking the media‘s treatment during his Bucs tenure, supports that in retrospect.
 

rodderick

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There were too many circumstances surrounding his previous retirement in regards to his marriage and his contract that lead me to believe the dude was being pulled in a lot of different ways and had little clarity over the decision to keep playing football. Now he's divorced and a free agent, so when he says he's done, I'm much more inclined to believe him. I think he's known he wasn't coming back for a while now.
 

j44thor

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Aug 1, 2006
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Yes to all this.







It was his 3rd start, against San Diego in the rain.


I was at that game. The group I was with were all ready to leave early 3rd Q when SD went up big but I made us stick it out. Ironically I was also at the season opener that started the Brady journey.
 

BusRaker

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I'll be curious when he morphs into a talking head if he will have a NEP bias (say like Michael Irvin with the Boys), hides it will (a la Troy Aikman) or none at all once all of his teammates have left the team (Slater, DMC, etc).
 

cornwalls@6

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I have not enjoyed Brady playing as a Buc. I would not have enjoyed him playing in 2023 with another team.

I've been selfish and I don't care. The guy *IS* New England football, and I fell in football love with him after his 3rd or 4th start here 22 years ago.

I really just wanted my Tom back and I feel like retirement is the only way that will happen.
This is similar to me as well. I didn't have active animosity towards him(though some of his social media activity was a little annoying), but I just couldn't get excited about watching him in another uniform. And was totally indifferent about his super bowl win in Tampa. It just felt kind of like rooting for him/reliving his incredible run here was on hold for a few years. I never had to do that with Papi or Bird, my other two all time guys. If this time is for real, and I think it is, it's going to be great going back and binging all his greatest moments on YouTube. Starting tonight, probably.
 

BaseballJones

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Brady won 7 Super Bowls in 23 seasons, or about one every three seasons. That's crazy town.

Mahomes has won one in five seasons, and if they win it this year, two in six seasons. Let's assume they do win this year. He'd have to keep up that pace for another 15 years to catch Tom.
 

Justthetippett

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Aug 9, 2015
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I feel like him signing with Tampa was essentially his “retirement” for me. I’ll never get over Kraft, BB (or TB’s own) failure to keep him in a Pats uniform until he retired. Just a really unfortunate outcome from my point of view as a fan. There will 100% be calls to him this year when so and so goes down with an injury. (Like when the Pats start 12-0 and then Mac breaks a leg!) I trust that he’s sure about his decision now but who knows how he’ll feel in October, November, etc.
 

PedroKsBambino

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I believe I said something similar in the first retirement, but other than Bill Russell Brady likely goes down as the greatest winner in team sports history. He went from being in a timeshare senior year of college and a sixth-round pick to being the most successful player---both by statistics and wins---in the history of the NFL. His path is one we will never see again, and we're incredibly fortunate to have been the witnesses to it and in particular his amazing Patriots career.
 

SemperFidelisSox

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Brady can be illegible to be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame a year before the Pro Football. They should retire #12 right away, but I bet they just wait until he is at least in Pats HOF and do a big ceremony then.
 

HurstSoGood

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I'm thinking back to all the unbelievable memories that I have experienced with friends and family (and strangers, for that matter!)...simply because the GOAT played for my team. It is so strange to try and process how some of my favorite life memories - trips, get-togethers, phone calls, celebrations, etc. - might be completely different if TB12 didn't lead out team to so many crazy victories and Super Bowls wins. I mean, how friggin blessed have we been as Boston fans for the last 20 years? I almost feel bad for someone who has yet to experience fandom rewarded like this.

I'm glad he is retiring with, seemingly, all his wits about him. I really didn't want to see him go out on a shield.
 

Blizzard of 1978

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Sep 12, 2022
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I wanted one more year.

I really thought he was going to try for one more. But I very much understand why he didn't. NFL defenses are fast and strong. And dangerous for the young, let alone 46 year olds.
Me as well one more year. Will always remember him. He was my Mickey Mantle, Larry Bird and Bobby Orr. The GOAT
 

Euclis20

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I was certain after he came back (and especially after the divorce) that he would stick around until no one would pay him, or at least until no one would pay him to be a starter. Retiring last year (after nearly winning the MVP and looking good in the playoffs) would have definitely meant retiring with some good games left on the field, it feels more right this time around. Brady in 2022 was Jordan in 2003 - a GOAT who was still pretty good and a borderline all-star, but no longer one of the best in the league and by the end they were definitely peering over the edge of the cliff that all athletes fall off of eventually. Good for him to get out before the fall really started.
 

snowmanny

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Brady won 7 Super Bowls in 23 seasons, or about one every three seasons. That's crazy town.

Mahomes has won one in five seasons, and if they win it this year, two in six seasons. Let's assume they do win this year. He'd have to keep up that pace for another 15 years to catch Tom.
I would call Brady 7 in 21 and Mahomes 2 in 5 if he wins this year. But that's just counting seasons they actually played football.

I mean, did Brady win a national title at Michigan? I'd say no
 

kfoss99

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I kept a spreadsheet of Tom Brady's stats in his 40s compared to the 40+ stats for every other quarterback. Including Brady, I counted 20 quarterbacks who played at least one game at 40, from Pro Football Reference and NFL.com

Brady has 44% of all completions and 42% of total yards and touchdowns of the group.

Blanda, Moon, Testaverde, Favre, and Brees combined 193 touchdowns ties Brady's.

No other quarterback came close to 10,000 passing yards and Brady had 27,632.
 

MikeM

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Posting it like this instead of some big PR announcement is better and tells me he means it this time.
My initial takeaway was actually the exact opposite. I'd of been more convinced had it committed to a second big PR announcement. This seemed more like raw emotion announcing a decision, in an easier to backtrack a second time manner, that could largely be driven by a present desire to not leave the Bucs and his teammates hanging in the wind. Which most importantly and in the immediate aftermath moment allows both to move forward and start firmly planning for him not being there as of today.

Lot of time and empty no football days between now and next season. To echo some others I'd certainly have it down as 50/50 he comes back if Shanahan (who is in no hurry to make alternate plans here) and that perfect storm "one more run" scenario case comes calling latter on.
 

tims4wins

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I don't know why this thought even crept into my head, but I hope we get to hear him openly talk about Deflategate at some point. I'm not holding my breath though.
 

BaseballJones

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I don't know why this thought even crept into my head, but I hope we get to hear him openly talk about Deflategate at some point. I'm not holding my breath though.
I will say this.... part of my conversations with Slater for my book.......we've broached the subject, let's just put it that way. Slater isn't Brady so obviously it would be different hearing from Tom. But....yeah.

EDIT: No, that stuff won't be in the book - it's been off the record. But I'm hoping to do much more with that subject down the road. Anyone here who's paid any attention to my posts here over the years knows that this particular issue has been, uh, shall we say, of great interest to me.
 

PC Drunken Friar

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I kept a spreadsheet of Tom Brady's stats in his 40s compared to the 40+ stats for every other quarterback. Including Brady, I counted 20 quarterbacks who played at least one game at 40, from Pro Football Reference and NFL.com

Brady has 44% of all completions and 42% of total yards and touchdowns of the group.

Blanda, Moon, Testaverde, Favre, and Brees combined 193 touchdowns ties Brady's.

No other quarterback came close to 10,000 passing yards and Brady had 27,632.
Beyond the passing records, Brady is 2nd in receptions and reception yards for players over 40 and 2nd in rushing yards and 1st in rushing attempts for players 40+.
 

cornwalls@6

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I don't know why this thought even crept into my head, but I hope we get to hear him openly talk about Deflategate at some point. I'm not holding my breath though.
The Fox gig might be a complication for him going too negative on the league. Not that he'd be muzzled, but broadcast teams are not really journalists in any way, they're partners of the league. I would imagine he'd pull his punches a little bit, at least. Also think that tends to be his nature. I'd love to hear his unvarnished thoughts as well, though. For sure.
 

azsoxpatsfan

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Brady was drafted a few months after my second birthday. Thanks for the memories. The undisputed greatest of all time
 

BunnzMcGinty

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I just turned 40, thanks for pointing this out.

I'm loving being 40 though. It's rad
Brady is six months younger than me, so now I feel really old.

My life is definitely more settled in my 40s, but the quadruple bypass at 43 I don’t recommend.
 

BaseballJones

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Brady in the 4th quarter and OT of his last 4 Super Bowls with NE...

vs Sea: 13-15, 123 yds, 2 td, 0 int
vs Atl: 21-27, 246 yds, 1 td, 0 int
vs Phi: 9-16, 91 yds, 1 td, 0 int
vs LAR: 4-5, 67 yds, 0 td, 0 int

TOT: 47-63 (74.6%), 527 yds, 8.4 y/a, 4 td, 0 int, 120.3 rating

Not counting kneel downs, the Pats had 11 possessions in the 4th quarter and OT in those four games. Of those 11 possessions:

7 touchdowns
2 field goals
1 fumble
1 time ran out

The missed one PAT vs Atlanta, but converted two 2-point conversions. So they scored, in those 11 possessions, 56 points.

That's incredible.
 

BornToRun

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I was in the third grade when I first started watching football and at the end of that year, Tom had his third title. I’m not far from 30 now and he’s got another 4 and is just now calling it a career. He’s the GOAT and I’m so thankful I got to watch his career and this incredible run of football from the Pats. Godspeed, Tom.
 

Euclis20

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View: https://twitter.com/minakimes/status/1620844144804655106?s=20&t=7-r3_sS5UaYiIZuOOYYEpw


This is something I've thought about a couple of times over the last few years. Montana and Manning aren't really comps for Brady, the biggest modern comparison in American team sports is Jordan. There are countless stories about what an asshole Jordan was (not just to opponents, but to teammates), and while those stories are always framed from a "he was such an amazing competitor that it's almost inevitable that he be a miserable human being" perspective, it's a remarkable contrast to how literally involved in the NFL at any level (teammates, opponents, former players, coaches, analysts, announcers) has nothing but good things to say. It's not just the absence of bad things, everyone seems to have positive interactions with him. Even the stories about what a competitor he is are completely different from Jordan. For every Jordan story that involves him punching a teammate in practice, there's a story about how Brady beat his offensive line in a drinking contest. It's obviously not what made him the greatest player ever, but it undoubtedly contributed to him being the best leader since Russell.