Some love him. Most loathe him. All respect him. The greatest quarterback of all time, Tom Brady, officially announced his National Football League retirement on Feb. 1 after 22 seasons in the league. Brady’s retirement was a slight surprise as most people assumed he’d go for one more Super Bowl victory. However, although his team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did not win another championship, Brady retired on top. 

After a collegiate career at the University of Michigan, Brady was drafted by the New England Patriots as the 199 pick in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. The underrated Brady joined the Patriots where, at the time, star quarterback Drew Bledsoe led the team while Brady observed. Determined to prove the league wrong with his low draft pick, Brady went on a strict diet and committed every minute to improving, hoping that one day it would be his name called as QB1. When Bledsoe was injured during the 2001 season, the Patriots turned to Brady. Having prepared for this moment, Brady immediately embraced the opportunity. To the organization’s pleasant surprise, Brady was instantly a star, leading the Patriots to a Super Bowl title in his first season as a starter. From this point on, Brady transformed the New England Patriots into a dynasty; it seemed no matter how close the game was, Brady always found a way to emerge victorious. Brady played on the Patriots for 20 years, and only missed the 2008 season due to an ACL injury. 

Brady worked closely with Patriots head coach, mastermind Bill Belichick. The two worked hand in hand to devise brilliant strategies that appeared unstoppable game in and game out. Brady’s skill and talent in conjunction with Belichick’s creativity and awareness made the Patriots unstoppable. For 19 seasons, this dynamic worked. However, in Brady’s final season on the Patriot’s multiple sources reported tension between the two. With Brady’s contract coming to an end, Belichick believed it was best to let him go. He believed that the 43 year old would run out of fuel and his age would catch up with him. The Patriot’s loss to the Tennessee Titans in the 2019 playoffs, ultimately lead to Brady’s departure from the Patriot’s organization, causing disappointment and heartbreak to many fans. 

In his final two seasons, Brady took his stardom ability to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where in his first season on the team, Brady led the Buccaneers to their second Super Bowl victory in organization history. Proving Belichick wrong, Brady threw for another remarkable season. 

Brady’s retirement was shocking to many, as he often answered retirement questions with answers like “I will play until I’m 50” or “I will only step down when I am no longer a championship quarterback.” Because Brady had one of his personal best seasons so far in his final season, the retirement announcement came as a surprise. In his final season, Brady finished with a career high 5,316 passing yards, 43 touchdown passses, threw over 40 touchdowns in two consecutive seasons (first time in his career) and it was the third time he threw more than 40 or more passes in a single season. These are just a few of his final season records. His career holds many more.  

Brady had a knack for being a hero on the field. He made comebacks where comebacks seemed impossible and managed to, despite his age, improve his game every year. Despite bringing heartbreak to many football fans throughout the years as Brady often was the reason for eliminating teams, football fans respected Brady. His drive, work ethic and competitive attitude made him great. The skinny, slow underdog from the University of Michigan became the greatest quarterback of all time. As his era comes to a close, many fans are curious what a league without Tom Brady will look like. He was the one player people could never count out. 

However, as Brady suggested in his retirement post, he could no longer devote 100% of his life to football. He had other priorities now and his time had come to an end. He is passing the torch to the next generation of star quarterbacks. 

Brady holds nearly every major quarterback record. He has the most passing yards, completions, touchdown passes, games started, most regular and postseason wins, most Pro Bowl selections, most Super Bowl wins, Super Bowls in three different decades, most Super Bowl MVP awards and the only player to ever win a Super Bowl MVP award for two different franchises. He was a force to be reckoned with and dominated the field for the last 22 years. 

Brady hangs up his cleats and walks off the field with no regrets. He walks away a champion.

Photo Credit: “Tom Brady 2017” by Jeffrey Beall is licensed under CC BY 4.0