Tom Brady says he’s retiring for good this time around

Tom Brady, one of the world’s most famous professional athletes who is widely regarded as the greatest player in NFL history, announced Wednesday that he is retiring. for good this time.

“I’ll get to the point right away,” Brady, who just completed his 23rd season, said in a short video posted to social media. “I’m retiring. For goodness sake.”

Brady, 45, walks out of the league as the winner of seven Super Bowls, an NFL record, as well as at the top of the list for nearly every successful statistical category. He was the oldest active player in the NFL this season, but he still played at the elite level until the very end.

Brady retired after his third season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, reversing his decision and returning to play after announcing his retirement in February 2022. It was his worst season – the team finished with an 8-9 record and lost in the wild-card playoff round to the Dallas Cowboys. But Brady threw for 4,694 yards, third most in the league, while completing 66.8 percent of his passes.

The season took place against the backdrop of a tense period in his personal life. Brady and supermodel Gisele Bundchen, his wife of over 13 years, announced in October that they had filed for divorce.

He is expected to play a TV announcer, after in 2022 he signed a deal with Fox Sports It is said to be worth $375 million More than 10 years. Brady also runs several businesses: he founded health and wellness company TB12 Sports with his longtime coach Alex Guerrero; Religion of Sports, a media company; and the Brady Brand clothing line.

Brady joined the Pirates in 2020, Lead the team to a Super Bowl victory In his first year in Tampa Bay. To do so, he left the franchise for which he had played his entire career up to that point. After spending two decades with the New England Patriots, where he won six World Championships, Brady did not come up with new contract terms and the team allowed him to leave as an unrestricted free agent.

The Patriots drafted Brady in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft, and he won the quarterback job midway through his sophomore season after replacing the injured Drew Bledsoe. Brady was associated with coach Bill Belichick throughout his New England career as the two formed one of the league’s dynasties. Besides winning six Super Bowls, tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most by an NFL franchise, the Patriots have appeared in nine Super Bowls and 13 AFC Championship games.

But his New England career also faced challenges. The NFL in 2015 suspended Brady for five games after investigating whether the team intentionally deflated the footballs to gain an advantage in the 2015 AFC Championship Game. Brady served a four-game suspension for being “generally aware” The scam known as Deflategate.

After appearing to fumble against the Oakland Raiders in the 2001 AFC Championship, Brady was also the face of the so-called “tuck rule,” which states that if a quarterback loses possession of the ball while his arm completes an intended forward motion, play should be ruled an inappropriate pass. complete rather than confusing.