Tom Brady is riding off into the sunset after 22 years in the NFL.
Brady has decided to retire following his second season in Tampa Bay, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington, ending a first-ballot Hall of Fame career.
Tom Brady is retiring from football after 22 extraordinary seasons, multiple sources tell @JeffDarlington and me.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 29, 2022
More coming on https://t.co/rDZaVFhcDQ. pic.twitter.com/6CHWmMlyXg
MORE: Will Rob Gronkowski retire?
Brady's agent, Don Yee, issued a statement to Schefter that neither confirmed nor denied the report that he is retiring, but said that Brady "will be the only person to express his plans with complete accuracy."
"He knows the realities of the football business and planning calendar as well as anybody, so that should be soon," Yee said in the statement.
Statement from Tom Brady’s agent Don Yee: pic.twitter.com/vbUhSToYtT
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 29, 2022
Why did Tom Brady retire?
Brady made his decision based on family and health, per ESPN's report, while also taking into account that the Buccaneers are likely to have roster turnover in 2022. The ESPN article noted Brady has not wanted a "farewell season," with several close to him saying he did not want much drama leading up to the decision.
Over the last several weeks of the 2021 campaign, there were rumors circulating that Brady was playing his final season in the NFL, with ESPN reporting that the Buccaneers had been bracing for life after Brady. In Darlington and Schefter's report, Tampa Bay was said to have hoped to make a pitch to keep Brady on board for one more season.
What has Tom Brady said about his decision to retire?
Though Brady has yet to publicly comment on his decision to retire, he previously said his family would play a larger role in determining his future in the NFL, saying after his team's loss to the Rams in the NFC divisional round that he felt like he could leave the game "proud and satisfied."
"Playing football, I get so much joy from and I love it. But not playing football, there's a lot of joy for that with me too, now," Brady said on his "Let's Go!" podcast with Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray. "As I've gotten older, the best part 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 difference now that I'm older is I have kids now, too, and I care about them a lot as well."
On the podcast, Brady said that winning games no longer feels as good as it used to, and said that winning felt more like a relief while defeats stung even more.
"I'm proud and satisfied of everything we accomplished this year," Brady said. "I know when I give it my all, that's something to be proud of. And I've literally given it everything I've had this year, last year and the year before that. I don't leave anything half-assed."
Looking back at Tom Brady's NFL career
Brady began his professional career as the ultimate underdog story after being drafted in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He sat behind Drew Bledsoe in his first season in New England before taking over as the starter in 2001. He led the Patriots to a Super Bowl win that year against the Rams, and he never looked back as the team's starter.
He went on to win back-to-back Super Bowls in 2003 and 2004, and he claimed his first NFL MVP award in 2007, when he led the Patriots to an undefeated regular season and a Super Bowl berth. That year, he threw for 4,806 yards with a career-high 50 touchdowns.
Brady won his second MVP in 2010 and his third in 2017. In 2016, he led the Patriots to an improbable Super Bowl comeback from down 28-3 in the third quarter to a 34-28 overtime win against the Falcons. Brady reached two more Super Bowls with the Patriots after that victory, losing to the Eagles before defeating the Rams to claim his final ring in New England.
After the 2019 season, Brady left the Patriots to join the Buccaneers, winning a Super Bowl in his first year in Tampa Bay and pushing his NFL record to seven Super Bowl rings. Though the Buccaneers fell short of back-to-back titles in 2021, he still finished with a career-best 5,316 passing yards and led the league both in passing yardage and passing touchdowns (43) at the age of 44.
