Tom Brady Official Retirement Statement: Time to ‘Focus on Other Things’

Tom Brady has officially retired from the NFL. After days of speculation, the legendary NFL quarterback who played for the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers went to Instagram on Tuesday morning to officially announce his retirement. This comes one day after telling everyone on the Let’s Go! podcast that he hasn’t made a decision yet. 

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

It was reported by CBS Sports, ESPN and NFL.com over the weekend that Brady was going to retire. However, it was then reported that Brady told the Buccaneers that he hasn’t made a decision yet. Before the announcement, Brady went to Instagram to send a message to the fans about his future. 

“I understand that at this stage in my career, there is going to be interest in my future whenever a season ends, but this week, all that is on my mind is the gratitude I have for this team and the fans that have supported us all year long,” Brady wrote in the Instagram post. “This year has been incredibly rewarding personally and professionally and I am appreciative of everyone who worked their ass off to help our team achieve so much.”  

Brady was looking to win his eighth Super Bowl, but the Buccaneers lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round of the playoffs last week. While on the Brady talked about how his family will play a big role in his decision. 

“I think as I’ve gotten older, I think the best part is, is football is extremely important in my life,” Brady continued. “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. And 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.”

Brady is the most accomplished player in NFL history. He has won seven Super Bowls, was named Super Bowl MVP five times and NFL MVP three times. Brady is also the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns.