Tom Brady Retires From NFL ‘For Good’

Tom Brady is officially done playing football. The seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback went to Twitter on Wednesday to officially announce his retirement from the NFL in an emotional video. This comes exactly one year after Brady retired from football only to unretire a month later. 

“Good morning, guys, I’ll get to the point right away. I’m retiring. For good,” Brady announces in the video. “I know the process was a pretty big deal last time so when I woke up this morning I just figured I’d press record and let you guys know first. So I won’t be long-winded. You only get one super emotional retirement essay and I used mine up last year. Thank you, guys, so much, to every single one of you for supporting me,” he continues, appearing choked up. “My family, my friends, my teammates, my competitors, I could go on forever. There’s too many. Thank you guys for allowing me to live my absolute dream. I wouldn’t change a thing. Love you all.” 

The announcement comes after Brady had a forgettable 2022 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The team finished the season 8-9, which is the first time Brady has ever had a losing season as a starting quarterback. According to Jeff Darlington of ESPN, Brady informed the Buccaneers early Wednesday morning that he will retire. He was set to be an unrestricted free agent in March, and it was reported that if he didn’t retire, he would return to the Buccaneers instead of joining another team. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network says that family considerations played a major role in his decision. In October, Brady divorced his wife of 13 years Gisele Bündchen, and the two have two children together — Benjamin, 13, and Vivan, 10. 

Brady began his NFL career with the New England Patriots in 2000. He was a sixth-round pick and became the starter when Drew Bledsoe went down with an injury during the 2001 season. Brady led the team to a Super Bowl title that year and would go on to become arguably the best quarterback in NFL history. Brady led the Patriots to nine Super Bowl appearances with six Super Bowl wins, and when he joined the Buccaneers in 2020, Brady won another Super Bowl that season. 

The 45-year-old also won five Super Bowl MVPs, won three NFL MVPs, was named Offensive Player of the Year twice, was named Comeback Player of the Year and has been selected to 15 Pro Bowls. Brady is the NFL’s All-Time leader in passing yards (89,214) passing touchdowns (649) and career wins (251). He is a member of the NFL 2000s and 2010s All-Decade Teams.