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Tom Brady announced his second, and surely final, retirement on Wednesday, February 1, capping off a historic 23-year-long NFL career.
Prior to today, there was speculation about whether or not Brady would return to the league. And according to reports, he did actually consider returning to play for one franchise: the Tampa Bay Bucs, the team he called home from the last three seasons.
Jeff Darlington of ESPN reports that the Buccaneers found out Brady’s plans shortly before the rest of us. Brady reportedly informed the team of his plans at 6 a.m. on Wednesday.
While there had been plenty of speculation about where Brady might play in 2023, Darlington’s report indicates that there weren’t a lot of options in play. Brady had reportedly “implied” to people close to him that his decision was about whether to remain with the Bucs or walk away from the game. [via ProFootballTalk]
Tom Brady informed Bucs today at 6 am he’d be retiring. One aspect I’d been mentioning for a bit now: Brady for months implied to many close to him that it was going to be either a return to Tampa or retirement. Tough for many to believe, including those close, but he meant it.
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) February 1, 2023
With Brady now officially retired, the 45-year-old Hall of Famer will likely begin on his sports media career, as he signed a behemoth, 10-year, $375 million deal with Fox Sports last May to become their primary color commentator.
During his legendary 23-season NFL career with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Bucs, Brady completed 64% of his passes for 89,214 yards, 649 touchdowns, and 212 interceptions. He won 251 regular season games in his career and 35 postseason games, including seven Super Bowl victories (six with the Patriots and one with the Bucs).
Brady was famously drafted by Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots in the sixth round (199th overall) in the 2000 NFL Draft. After an injury to starting QB Drew Bledsoe during the 2001 season, Brady took over the starting role and went on to become the greatest quarterback of all time.