Questions mount about whether Tom Brady is retiring from the NFL
Questions mounted Saturday about whether Tom Brady — often regarded as the greatest professional football player of all time — had finally retired from the NFL, bringing an end to a remarkable 22-year career that redefined what a quarterback could achieve.
The news was first reported by ESPN, citing anonymous sources, followed by a pair of tweets by the NFL apparently confirming the news.
But in statements to media, Brady's agent, Donald Yee, would not confirm — or deny — the report.
"Without getting into the accuracy or inaccuracy of what's being reported, Tom will be the only person to express his plans with complete accuracy," Yee wrote. "He knows the realities of the football business and planning calendar as well as anybody, so that should be soon."
As the afternoon unfolded, the confusion mounted. Brady's company, TB12 Sports, posted a congratulatory tweet, then deleted it. Other reports said the Buccaneers leadership had not been informed of any decision yet.
The Associated Press reported that Brady had told the Bucs he hadn't made up his mind. And KRON4 News, a local news station in the Bay Area, where Brady's parents live, reported that Brady's father had denied reports of his son's retirement.
Brady himself has not given a public statement since the initial ESPN report.
Brady's remarkable career
Brady's retirement is so hotly watched because his career has been so superlative. His departure would be the end of an era for professional football.
In 22 seasons with the New England Patriots and later the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Brady reached the Super Bowl a mind-boggling 10 times, winning seven. (Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw, the quarterbacks with the next most Super Bowl wins, have only — only! — four.)
He began his career inauspiciously, falling to Patriots in the 6th round of the draft, after 198 players had already been taken. As a 22-year-old, he seemed like nothing special — a nice career at Michigan, perhaps a bit unathletic, if the now-famous photo taken of him at the NFL Combine was any indication.
But with the Patriots, he connected with coach Bill Belichick, and the NFL was never the same.
The league's unofficial slogan is "any given Sunday" — any team always has a shot to beat any other. In other words, in the NFL, there's no such thing as a sure thing.
But Brady defied that calculus, somehow always the sure bet.
With Brady under center, the Patriots were as close as anything to a lock for the playoffs, beginning with his first year as a starter. (With Brady as their starting quarterback, the Pats missed the playoffs only in his second year as a starter and the year he tore his ACL.) From 2011 to 2018, he led the Patriots to eight straight conference championship games. They won the Super Bowl six times.
After a disappointing final season in New England, Brady announced in March 2020 that he would not re-sign with the team, ending his 20-year run. Three days later, he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In two seasons with Tampa Bay, he promptly won yet another Super Bowl then led the Bucs to the playoffs yet again.
In his last game — a playoff bout last week against the Los Angeles Rams — Brady's Bucs found themselves down 27-3 after the Rams burst out of the gates.
As the Bucs chipped away at the lead, the Brady magic seemed alive and well — the man was making yet another unthinkable comeback happen yet again. With Brady under center, the Bucs marched back, tying the game at 27-27 with just 42 seconds to play.
But the Rams broke the spell. Two long passes later, Los Angeles kicked a field goal to win as time expired, putting an end to the Bucs' playoff hopes — and Brady's career.
If Brady, now 44 years old, is in fact retiring — he will do as one of the most decorated players of all time. Of his dizzying number of career records, many are nigh untouchable. No quarterback has ever started so many games, won so many games, passed for so many yards or touchdowns. He has started more playoff games, and won more, than any other quarterback. He scored more touchdowns in his 40s than he did in his 20s.
The NFL is not short on phenomenal young quarterbacks, including the 26-year-old Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and 25-year-old Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills.
But they have many years to go before they are in position to break Brady's records.
ESPN reports that his family and his health were among the reasons for his retirement. Brady has three children, including two with his wife Gisele Bündchen.
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Transcript
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
One of the greatest all time - sorry - one of the all-time greatest athletes in any professional sport is reportedly hanging up his cleats. Today, the NFL tweeted their appreciation for Tom Brady, currently quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he won his latest Super Bowl. ESPN reported that he is retiring from football after 22 seasons, but then Brady's agent tweeted, suggesting that his departure might not be a done deal after all.
For most of his career, Tom Brady was a New England patriot. His 10 Super Bowl appearances and seven Super Bowl victories are both all-time records in the National Football League. To hear the latest and to get a sense of what this retirement, if that's what it is, would mean for the game and his fans, we're turning to NPR's Becky Sullivan. Becky, welcome. Thanks for joining us.
BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: No problem.
M MARTIN: So is he retiring or what? What's going on here?
SULLIVAN: That is the big question. There's been a ton of talk about this since he and the Bucs lost in the playoffs last week. He's, as you said, he's 44 years old. This afternoon, ESPN came out with a report based on anonymous sources saying that he decided to retire. The NFL follows it up, as you said, with these tweets and all this. But because Brady's agent won't confirm the news, you know, we're just not going to know until we hear from the man himself.
M MARTIN: Well, help us understand where Tom Brady sits in the pantheon of NFL quarterbacks and among professional sports athletes more broadly.
SULLIVAN: I am not sure that there's a way to overstate this. I mean, this guy was certainly the best quarterback to ever play in the NFL. That's going to be true for a very long time. He holds pretty much every career record that any quarterback would ever want. I'll read you some of them. He has started the most games. He's won the most games, passed for the most yards, most touchdowns, started more playoff games, won more playoff games than anybody else, and then, of course, as you said, seven Super Bowl rings. That is wild. It's going to be a very, very long time before anybody else is able to touch what he accomplished.
M MARTIN: And he's 44. I mean, more touchdown passes in his 40s than he did in his 20s. He's won two championships since turning 40, and he's talked about as a possible MVP this season. So, I mean, I know for anybody else, this would be a ridiculous question. But did this retirement come as a surprise?
SULLIVAN: You know, I think not. I don't don't think it's that much of a surprise. Like you said, he's 44. That's pretty dang old for an NFL player. Like literally, he was the oldest player in the league this past season. There's only one other guy even in his 40s. And I think especially after that loss last week, I think, you know, the thing about Brady is that you can never count him out. No lead with him is safe - 28-3, 2017 Super Bowl.
But last week, they're playing the Rams, they're down 27-3. He, like, engineers this comeback. They tie it up. But then the Rams are the ones with the crazy, last-minute magic. They're the ones who get up the field goal as time expires. And it's the Rams who win 30-27. And so it's sort of like, oh, well, maybe the Brady magic is gone. So, you know, I think after that, it sort of like felt - it feels a little right.
M MARTIN: So before we let you go, Brady is relatively new to the Tampa Bay Bucs, where he won his most recent Super Bowl. And certainly people appreciate that who live there. But he will certainly be remembered for his 20 years as a New England Patriots. Just briefly as you can, what would you say he meant to the team and to the city and to New England?
SULLIVAN: You know, I don't think - I think another thing you can't overstate is that, I mean, the Pats, they were on the upswing before he started with them, but they were a pretty middling franchise for a very long time. They had never won a Super Bowl before Tom Brady showed up. I think at this point, six Super Bowls in 20 years, that guy basically has a key to the city of Boston. He's not ever going to have to buy a drink there. And normally, I think it's hard for athletes to play for another team, you know, for fans to see that. But the Boston fans have really embraced his run for the Bucs, more people watching the Bucs games in Boston than they did in any other city besides Kansas City for the Super Bowl last year. That says it all.
M MARTIN: All right. That was NPR's Becky Sullivan. Becky, thank you so much.
SULLIVAN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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