Tom Brady retires

nattysez

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Sep 30, 2010
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His oldest kid is 14, so either in high school or starting high school. When my oldest started high school, the fact that his childhood was over and that he'd only be living at home for a few more years really hit me. I wonder if Brady had a similar realization and decided he wanted to be around more.

Knowing that Tampa was likely to start to trend downward probably made the decision easier.

Good for him.
 

GB5

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Aug 26, 2013
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Incredible Career. We were blessed to have a front seat to 95% of it. football just became less fun next year. What does his post NFL career look like? How does he fill his maniacal competitive drive? How does he fill the 70 hour weeks he is used to? Safe to say his retirement is permanent. No one year off and then come back. I hate to even suggest this at this time, but I hope he doesnt go heavy in the public platform with TB12/Guerrero/concussion water.
 

McBride11

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It will be so weird without TB12 embarassing defenses next year. We have been blessed to witness him as our QB for 20 years.

Has this been confirmed anywhere though?
 

cornwalls@6

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Apr 23, 2010
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I definitely wanted one more year. But he went out at 44 leading the NFL in yards and TDs.

No regrets. He's the best professional sports player in history.
There are others in the argument(Jordan, Ruth,), but I agree. Incredible dominance, playing the most demanding position in American team sports. What an incredible 20 years he gave us. Can’t wait to see him honored at Gillette. That will be unreal. The greatest Boston athlete of all time as well.
 

54thMA

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As the saying goes, it's better to retire a year too early than a year too late.

Thanks for all the joy you brought me as a Patriots fan, just incredible.

As great as the comeback was vs the Falcons, to me his game vs the Seahawks was his finest moment, to carve up that defense and be laser focused after all the Deflategate bullshit was his high water mark IMO.

That is and always will be my favorite Super Bowl, what a joy to be able to debate my most favorite Super Bowl win; not to mention that comeback vs the Ravens in the divisional round the same year, coming back twice from down 14 points.

A privilege and an honor to have him as our QB, thanks Tom.
 

RedOctober3829

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Jul 19, 2005
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The impact that Tom has had on me and all Pats fans is immeasurable. I’m sure I’ll have more to say on this later, but I can’t right now. I’m just sad. It started when I was a freshman in college and now I’m looking at my 1 year old son throwing a football across my living room in Pats gear every Sunday.
 

Sam Ray Not

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Jul 19, 2005
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Whoa. Heard the rumors, but kinda thought he would give it one final victory lap. Looked a lot like his peak self in his final game.

Sigh. End of an era. Thank you, Tom.
 

PedroKsBambino

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It will be so weird without TB12 embarassing defenses next year. We have been blessed to witness him as our QB for 20 years.

Has this been confirmed anywhere though?
Michigan guy Schefter broke it and Edelman has tweeted about it so while not a full confirmation it seems pretty solid
 

Brand Name

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Passion. Fear. Excellence. Success. When we ask ourselves what we want the best versions to be of ourselves, in sports. In life. That’s what we want above everything. The passion that drives us, the fear of our excellence and dominance, and then perhaps success. That’s Tom Brady. To reach the mountain’s precipice *seven* times. As my role model for all my work, thank you Tom Brady for getting me into sports and also how I live my life. Unbridled energy and never feeling like enough is enough. Because, my god, it wasn’t for you. Nothing ever was. You’re who we all aspire to be. None like you before, and I doubt any will come after. It made you the best. Your sun may have set, but my god, what a blaze of glory you drove the chariots of Helios on the gridiron. As good as it gets. That’s Thomas Edward Fitzpatrick Brady Jr.
 

Helmet Head

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I kind of expected this but am still shocked for some reason. I do wonder if the situation in Tampa, which appeared to deteriorate towards the end, was better if he would still be retiring.

Any chance he has change of heart?
 

Soxy

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Dec 1, 2008
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Honestly I don’t buy this. I think he just wanted to keep playing and do things more his way.
I'm just guessing, who knows until/unless he explicitly tells us. Makes a lot of sense to me that, as soon as he won a title after going somewhere else, he felt like he truly had nothing left to prove and couldn't rationalize continuing to prioritize himself and his football career over his family and other interests.
 

bsj

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I kind of expected this but am still shocked for some reason. I do wonder if the situation in Tampa, which appeared to deteriorate towards the end, was better if he would still be retiring.

Any chance he has change of heart?
I think there is one team that could convince him to play one more season and even then not 50% chance, more like 49
 

CaptainLaddie

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Sep 6, 2004
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I was a freshman in college the last time he wasn't in the NFL.

Honestly, you can safely argue that Tom had 3 HOF-worthy careers:
2001-2007: 86-24, 197 TD, 86 INT, 4 Pro Bowls, 1 MVP, 3 Rings, 18-1, 3rd in AV
2009-2014: 74-23, 195 TD, 57 INT, 6 Pro Bowl, 1 MVP, 1 Ring, 1st in AV
2015-2021: 83-26, 232 TD, 60 INT, 5 Pro Bowl, 1 MVP, 3 Rings, 2nd in AV (first among offensive players, Aaron Donald is a cheat code).

Ridiculous.
 

McBride11

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Michigan guy Schefter broke it and Edelman has tweeted about it so while not a full confirmation it seems pretty solid
saw the Jules tweet after. Just interesting as Tb12 has become so twitter / ig involved he didnt break the news himself

Maybe im just wishcasting in hopes we dont see an nfl season without tommy
 

staz

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The cradle of the game.
Breaking News hits my phone, and of course SoSH is already on page 2.

Thank you Tom, for an incredible ride. More than anyone could ask for.
 

E5 Yaz

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Didn't he sign an extension so he's still under contract for another year?
Not that the Bucs would want compensation, but there might be a technicality to work around
 

axx

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Not that the Bucs would want compensation, but there might be a technicality to work around
Because I can imagine him trying to scheme to get out of Tampa to play one more year for some other team but he has to get cut first. Sign with a team at training camp or something.
 

Daniel_Son

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Greatest to ever do it. Man, between this and Ortiz making the HoF a few days ago, it really feels like the final chapter of the greatest era in New England sports.
 

E5 Yaz

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Because I am imagine him trying to scheme to get out of Tampa to play one more year for some other team but he has to get cut first. Sign with a team at training camp or something.
Nah ... this is it
 

Toe Nash

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He could have kept playing at a high level. Good for him to go out on his terms and I hope he enjoys the time with his family.

There was a viral tweet a few weeks ago that was something like "What is the biggest statistical outlier in sports history" and a few of the top answers were Bonds' 1.400 OPS seasons, DiMaggio's 56-game streak, stuff like that where players put up stats that were a standard deviation or five from normal. But I am pretty sure the answer is Tom Brady's career -- particularly the years from age 38+ which literally no one else has even come close or likely ever will come close to matching. The players who were the closest, Brees and Manning, were in the same ballpark as Tom most years during their primes, but by the end were basically surviving on their wits, ability to read defenses and their accuracy but couldn't throw with any power like they once could. But Tom was whipping balls into tight coverages when he was 4 years older than the age when those guys could barely hit an out route and basically had to hang it up. It boggles the mind and we were lucky to witness it, and be fans of the team he played for during most of that time.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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The biggest concern with his announcements that he would play until a certain age or something was that we would see a diminished super star in his declining years.

Won’t happen. He walks away as an MVP candidate, who never played a game out of contention for a championship.

He even is retiring like a GOAT. Never be matched. None of the “can’t compare across eras” debates you get when talking about other sports. He had enough for three hall of fame careers in one.