Armando Salguero
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Tom Brady is retiring from the NFL multiple sources told ESPN Saturday afternoon and confirmed later to OutKick.
Brady’s TB12 company also initially confirmed the seismic decision on social media before deleting the tweet.
Brady has not confirmed the news. He called the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to tell them he’s still in the middle of a decision.
But this, according to a source, is a way of making room for Brady to break the news to his team and fans first rather than allowing it to be broken by a media company. His decision, a source said, is indeed made.
So an era has maybe, probably come to an end.
Brady leaves the NFL after 22 seasons in which he established himself as the game’s most successful and prolific quarterback of all time.
He won seven Super Bowl rings with the New England Patriots (6) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1).
Brady retires as the NFL’s record holder for passing yardage and touchdowns. His all-time yards record sits at 84,520 and his all-time TD record is at 624.
Brady was coy about retiring or returning after the Bucs lost to the Los Angeles Rams in a divisional playoff game last Sunday. He said he’d take time to meet with his family and make a decision on his future.
Ultimately, it was his family that led Brady to leave the game at age 44. The father and husband wanted to spend more time with those he loves, a source said.
Brady definitely didn’t leave because he couldn’t play anymore.
In his final season, Brady led the NFL with 43 TD passes and a career-high 5,316 passing yards.
It was his second-most productive season ever behind his 2007 season in which he threw 50 TD passes.
The Brady retirement wasn’t unexpected but it does come with significant ramifications.
First will be the reaction.
They began to pour in from all over the NFL and former and current teammates Saturday.
The Buccaneers, for which Brady played two seasons, are now left without a franchise quarterback.
They are now a team looking for a starting quarterback that has only moderate cap space for 2022 — estimated at $11 million — and the 27th overall selection in the NFL draft.
So just as quickly as Brady’s arrival made the Bucs a super team, his departure just as quickly makes them just another team.
Follow on Twitter: @ArmandoSalguero
The greatest to play the game. Not only because he was the best QB, but I can’t remember a player impacting a team, and the league for over two decades at the level he played. His last drive for Tampa was a potential comeback drive, but his defense screwed him. I’ve followed the Pats since 1974 when Plunkett was the QB. I’m a Pats fan first and Brady second. He’s the GOAT and I’ve lived watching him play.
Given the absolute shit-headery we see/hear from athletes today I feel pretty lucky to have been able to watch Tom Brady at the local level for the majority of his career. Greatest team sport athlete of all time.
100%
The Goat
All timer great player and great human being the national felon league needs more like him he will be missed
If Aaron Rogers retires too, which old white guy will the people at ESPN gonna complain about?
Undeniably GOAT. Anyone who says otherwise is just a blatant hater at this point.
ESPN is so full of shit, they just wanted to get some clicks ahead of any real decision, heaven knows they need them… the CNN of sports.
Again with the anonymous sources breaking news? Doing this is the media saying the the public, “you should blindly trust us based on reputation alone.” You’ve got to be kidding me after the last 5-6 years! That’s like trusting in a compound fractured leg to run. It would be BEAUTIFUL if Brady came out saying it’s all false and he is playing, just to watch the backpedaling and excuses from the media explaining their stupid anonymous source reporting.