This time it’s really over. In a video posted on Twitter and Instagram, Tom Brady assured that he would never play an NFL match again, the national football league. Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback considered one of the best players in history, retires “for real”.
“I know the whole process was huge the last time. This time, when I woke up this morning, I thought I’d hit the right recording and tell you first.”, he continued to his fans. Before concluding his message, on the verge of tears: “Thank you all for allowing me to live my absolute dream, I will not have changed anything (to my career), I love you all.”
Exceptional longevity
Winner of seven Super Bowls – an absolute record – the former playing master of the New England Patriots, between 2000 and 2019 (six titles), then of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2020 to 2021 (one title), will have experienced exceptional longevity.
His career is above all a story worthy of a well-cliched Hollywood film. That of a type gone from the 199th choice of the draft in 2000 to become the ultimate winner, without necessarily being the most talented or the most powerful of his peers. At the start of his career, Tom “Terrific” has more Super Bowls under his belt than any NFL franchise. Even if it means talking about figures that rank him among the demigods of American football, it should also be noted that he was named five times MVP of the Super Bowl and three times MVP of the regular season, while holding the record for the most wins in regular seasons, and that of the most assists (21) bringing a touchdown in his ten Super Bowls.
In 2020, the quarterback had left the Patriots, after twenty years of an already sensational career, to join the Buccaneers, then one of the weakest teams in the NFL, which had not qualified for the play-offs since 2007. The beautiful story had continued: against all odds, the quarterback had taken them to the top, beating the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021, then putting on his seventh ring in ten finals. In search of an eighth title – a second with the Buccaneers – he saw his dream collapse on January 17, ingloriously eliminated by the Dallas Cowboys before even reaching the stage of the conference semi-finals.