It’s weird how we retain specific, vivid memories from our childhood. I still remember February 3, 2002, like it was yesterday. I was at my Dad’s house for the weekend, and when I got home on Sunday afternoon, my Mom, for no reason other than it being Super Bowl Sunday and she had to work that evening, had bought me a new pair of shoes — a fresh pair of white K-Swiss, that’s how long ago this was — and a Super Bowl XXXVI shirt. I was excited to see Drew Bledsoe’s replacement earlier that season, second-year quarterback and a sixth-round draft pick, Tom Brady, quarterback the New England Patriots against the Rams in the Super Bowl.
Brady led the Patriots to victory that night in what no one anticipated to be the first of seven Super Bowls by Tom Brady.
Pick No. 199 in the 2000 NFL Draft went from a late-round selection and backup quarterback to the greatest player to ever do it at the position over the next two decades. Today, nearly 20 years to the day that Tom Brady and the Patriots beat the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, Brady has announced his retirement on his social media accounts. Here’s a thread from the GOAT himself on his decision to call it a career.
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) February 1, 2022
And here’s a statement from the commissioner:
"An incredible competitor and leader, his stellar career is remarkable for its longevity”
Commissioner Roger Goodell speaks on Tom Brady's retirement. pic.twitter.com/nZpPTSApNA
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 1, 2022
There’s plenty of reasonable debate about the greatest player in each professional sport, but it’s much less of a discussion in the NFL. Tom Brady did it all. He personified winning, racking up seven Lombardi Trophies, more than any other player or franchise in the NFL. Brady had only one season in which he won fewer than 10 games in his 22-year career. Brady threw for 84,520 yards and 624 touchdowns. He is the G.O.A.T.
What a ride.
Tom Brady has officially announced his retirement after 22 seasons in the NFL. pic.twitter.com/DhdlRLrbr8
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 1, 2022
Maybe most impressive is that he’s walking away from the game on top.
At 44-years-old, Brady is on the heels of yet another MVP-caliber season in 2022. He could probably keep playing at that level if he had the desire. We were blessed to be able to watch the most extraordinary career in NFL history unfold in front of our eyes over the last 22 seasons, and there will likely never be another career like it.
At age 44, Tom Brady set CAREER-highs in:
🐐 Yards
🐐 Completions (most ever)And led the NFL in:
🐐 Yards
🐐 TDTom beat time. pic.twitter.com/QdwSK4wQpX
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 1, 2022
Here’s some fun from around the web on the retirement:
#BREAKING: Tom Brady, who lost 2 Super Bowls to the Giants during his legendary 22-year NFL career, retires; see his full message here https://t.co/xJUpRDfznQ
— NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) February 1, 2022
Going to miss you, @TomBrady. pic.twitter.com/u0at0Ek1Ox
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) February 1, 2022
Using @PFF WAR, most valuable player since
2021: Tom Brady
2020: Brady
2019: Brady
2018: Brady
2017: Brady
2016: Brady
2015: Brady
2014: Brady
2013: Brady
2012: Brady
2011: Brady
2010: Brady
2009: Brady
2008: Brady
2007: Brady
2006: Brady*WAR goes back to 2006
— Steve Palazzolo (@PFF_Steve) February 1, 2022