After 22 seasons, seven Super Bowl championships and five Super Bowl MVPs, the legendary quarterback Tom Brady has retired. Brady is one of the most famous athletes in sports history, so his retirement has made waves for both his fans and detractors. . Since Brady has been in the NFL for so long, many suspected that his retirement was imminent.  But when Adam Schefter leaked Brady’s unofficial retirement on Jan. 29, 2022, the football community was still shocked. Brady officially announced his retirement two days later on Feb. 1, 2022.

Brady is by far the most decorated quarterback in NFL history, but he came from humble origins. Being the 199th draft pick in 2000, The former  University of Michigan QB spent 20 of his seasons with the New England Patriots. He originally was the backup to starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe until Bledsoe was hurt in the second week of the 20-2 season. Brady then led the Patriots to a successful season, culminating with the teams’ first Super Bowl victory over the St. Louis Rams. After that season, Brady became the star of the AFC, taking the Pats to an additional eight Super Bowls and five more franchise wins. The power house duo of Brady and head coach Bill Belicheck seemed to be dominating the NFL. During Brady’s time with the Patriots he additionally won four Super Bowl MVPs, three regular season MVPs and set the career passing yards record.

After Brady’s go-to-guy, tight end Rob Gronkowski “Gronk”, retired in March 2019, Pats fans were unaware that this was Brady’s last season with the team. In March 2020, Brady announced that he was being released from the Pats and that he was going to be playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This caught Pats fans by surprise and captivated the media by this surprising choice. There were rumblings that Brady was to leave New England but nobody believed he would follow through with  this. He later convinced Gronk to come out of retirement and play for the Bucs, which felt like a slap in the face to the loyal Pats fans. In Brady’s first season as a Buc, he led the team to a 31-9 Super Bowl victory over the favored Kansas City Chiefs, only the second in the Buccaneers franchise history. The Bucs defense was able to stop Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense. Brady won another ring and Super Bowl MVP.

After this killer season, Brady decided to return for his 22nd season. Some may say this was a mistake and that he should have just retired a Super Bowl champ. Even after his retirement announcement, many believe that this won’t be the end for Brady.  The most anticipated game in the regular season was definitely the return of Brady to Gillette Stadium where the Pats would host the Bucs. Brady was welcomed back to his former home with cheers and chants, but as soon as the game started these dedicated fans were cheering for Mac Jones and the rest of the Pats offense. The Pats lost 19-17 but most Pats fans weren’t mad; they were happy to see their incredible QB back at home. However, the 2022 season wasn’t as magical as the 2021 season had been, especially following the injuries of key offensive players Leonard Fournette, Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. he Bucs fell to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Los Angeles Rams 30-27 in the divisional round of the playoffs . After the heartbreaking season final game, Brady took some time to reflect on his incredible career and decided it was time to end it.

After announcing his retirement from the NFL, Brady has received tremendous praise from not only football players, but other athletes as well. Brady will forever be remembered in the record books as the best QB the NFL has ever seen. Brady is full of surprises and Gronk seems to think that Brady will come back. In Brady’s podcast, Let’s Go, he said “you never say never,”. But for now, this is the end of Brady’s extraordinary career in the NFL.