Tom Brady Retires After Incredible 22 Year Career
From #199 to the GOAT
The amazing QB Tom Brady ended his NFL career after a record setting 22 year stay which included 7 Super Bowl titles along with 5 game MVP awards in two stops with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Bucs. The 44-year-old Buc QB Tom Brady stated that he owes time to his wife and children after a final run for the title. Retirement writing was on the wall for the GOAT after the Bucs lost in the divisional playoffs to the Rams. The greatest of all time made it official today, concluding an unparalleled career.
After being selected in the 6th round as the #199 overall draft choice in the NFL Draft 2000, Brady set virtually every QB record, Super Bowl wins, career victories, passing yards, TDs and playoff wins and divisional titles. He spent his first 20 seasons with the Patriots under HC Bill Belichick that includes 6 Super Bowl titles. He began as a 4th string QB before moving up the ranks and earning starting time when Drew Bledsoe was injured by a late hit that cost him the rest of his season and eventually his starting job. Brady led the Pats to an upset SB win over the St. Louis Rams that began the legacy that arguably has transformed him into the greatest NFL player in history.
His short two-year career in Tampa, began with a 6-2 start that set the ground work for another playoff run including winning the NFC title in Green Bay before beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. He returned in 2021 to win another unprecedented divisional title with a performance of over 5300 yards passing and 43 TD tosses.
He completes his career with 3 season MVP awards, 15 time Pro Bowler and the only player in NFL history to win a Super Bowl in three decades. His 7 Super Bowl victories in 10 appearances may stand for decades. Interesting in his three Super Bowl losses, he left the field (2x against the Giants and once vs Eagles) with a late 4th quarter lead, only for the vaulted Patriots defense to fail at the close. In 2007, he led the Patriots to a perfect 16-0 record along with a record 50 TD passes at the time. Their dream of perfection ended in SB XVII with Eli Manning’s late game dramatics for a crushing disappointing 17-14 loss.
His statistics are amazing and ranks #1 in NFL history in completions (7,263), pass attempts (11,317), yards (84,520), passing TDs (624), starts (316), QB wins (243), Pro Bowl nods (15), and Super Bowl MVPs (five). In addition, Brady led the NFL in TD passes five times (2002, 2007, 2010, 2015, 2021), the most such seasons by any player in NFL history.
His 2021 performance is beyond belief for anyone, let alone a 44-year old QB. He threw for 5316 yards with 43 TD passes along with 485 completions. He led the Bucs to their first AFC South title since 2007. In his final game, he led the Bucs vs the Rams to recover from a 27-3 deficit only to lose to a game winning FG at the buzzer. This season, he ranks with Aaron Rodgers in the two-man MVP award chase.
His postseason performances are even more incredible with no rivals in every critical category. No QB comes remotely close to his playoff success. In his 22-season career, he made 19 appearances, started 47 games, earned 35 wins, 10 Super Bowl appearances, seven Super Bowl wins, 1,165 postseason completions, 13,049 postseason passing yards, 86 postseason passing TDs with the most 3 TD passing games, in addition to 14 game-winning drives, and nine fourth-quarter comebacks, all most in NFL history.
Brady leaves at the top of the game with accomplishments that no 44-year old athlete even dreams about. Only a few rare athletes were able to accomplish retiring at their peak – Roger Staubach, John Elway, Jimmy Brown and Barry Sanders on the elite short list.
