The Retirement of Tom Brady
The career of one of the most prolific athletes in the history of sports has come to an end. On February 1st, NFL Quarterback Tom Brady announced his retirement, after 22 years in the league with a resume’ that includes three MVP awards, seven Super Bowl rings in ten appearances, and a myriad of records.
Brady was drafted in the 2000 NFL Draft out of Michigan during the sixth round with the 199th overall pick. For the first twenty seasons of his career, Brady served as the QB for the New England Patriots. Originally a backup, a 2001 injury to starter Drew Bledsoe launched Bradys’ domination of the NFL. Brady would take over the starting role and never look back. In his first four seasons at the helm, TB12 would make the Pats the second team ever to win 3 Super Bowl titles in 4 years. From there was a historic 2007 campaign. While this team is mostly remembered for being the only perfect regular-season record in the 16-game era, Brady became the first QB to ever throw fifty TDs in a season.
Various setbacks would attempt to derail his career along the way. The next season after that record-setting ‘07 Brady tore his ACL in week 1, incapacitating him for the entire 2008 season. Years later, Brady was at the center of a massive scandal. Indianapolis Colts staff would accuse Brady of tampering with the game balls of the 2014 AFC Championship Game. This debacle would come to be known as DeflateGate. Brady would lead the Patriots to a Super Bowl XLIX victory two weeks later, but in 2016, Brady would be suspended for the first 4 games of the season in the fallout of the scandal. Brady ended up getting the last laugh, however, as not only did he eventually lead the Patriots to another Super Bowl victory in an unprecedented 25-point comeback against the Atlanta Falcons in Overtime, but recent investigations revealed damning evidence that the NFL covered up evidence that would exonerate Brady from DeflateGate in the first place.
In 2020 Brady took his services to Tampa Bay in a move that would shock the NFL and shatter the hearts of Patriots Nation. In his first season in Tampa, he would deliver the Buccaneers a Super Bowl, and his 7th ring, alongside his 5th Super Bowl MVP.
This season following a loss to the eventual Super Bowl victors the Los Angeles Rams, Brady announced he would retire days after ESPN writer Adam Schefter prematurely announced it. Although his career’s final days were spent down South, the impact his play had on the New England area, and the sport of football is undeniable. Boston’s moniker of “Title Town” starting in the 2000s, began with Brady’s 3 rings
. His records of passing yards, TDs, and completions will only be matched, if not surpassed by those who play as long as him. The production and persistence of this 6th round 199th overall draft pick, whose Scouting Combine picture had become a joke of sorts in NFL circles, has shown to everyone that no matter what expectations are.
