The greatest quarterback in NFL history has retired, as Tom Brady has decided to call it a career. The news of Brady’s retirement was originally reported by Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports on Friday, who said that Brady was in the midst of telling people close to him he was preparing to announce his decision, and was confirmed by Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington of ESPN on Saturday.
Brady has hinted that he could be leaning towards retirement following the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 30-27 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisional Round. During an episode of his “Let’s Go!” podcast, the 44-year-old Brady said, “I think as I’ve gotten older, I think the best part is, is football is extremely important in my life, and it means a lot to me, and I care a lot about what we’re trying to accomplish as a team and I care a lot about my teammates. The biggest difference now that I’m older is I have kids now, too, you know, and I care about them a lot as well. They’ve been my biggest supporters. My wife is my biggest supporter. It pains her to see me get hit out there. And she deserves what she needs from me as a husband, and my kids deserve what they need from me as a dad.”
The No. 199 pick in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, Brady will go down as the greatest winner in the history of the league. No player (or, for that matter, franchise) has lifted the Lombardi Trophy more than Brady — six times with the Patriots, one time with the Buccaneers — with a record five Super Bowl MVP awards. His list of accomplishments beyond that include the NFL records for passing attempts, completions, yards, and touchdowns, along with a trio of MVP awards and 15 Pro Bowl selections.
