Munich – Tom Brady has ended his NFL career. The 44-year-old announced this in a statement on his Instagram channel.
“Writing these words is difficult for me. I’ll try anyway: I will not face this competition again,” writes the quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in his statement. “I loved my NFL career, but now it’s time to focus my time and energy on other things.”
Thanks to the Buccaneers – Patriots unmentioned
“I’ve been thinking a lot and asking myself difficult questions over the past few weeks. I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved. My teammates, coaches, opponents and fans deserve 100 percent from me. But now it’s best when I’m on the pitch to the next generation of dedicated athletes,” Brady continued.
Spicy: In his statement, Brady thanks his teammates, coaches, fans and those responsible for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in detail. His former team, the New England Patriots, or companion Bill Belichick are not mentioned by name.
Bucs coach Arians: “It was an honor”
Bruce Arians, Brady’s last head coach with the Buccaneers, commented on Brady’s retirement: “Tom came to us as the greatest football player in history and he quickly showed everyone in our organization what that means. He has new ones here Setting standards and creating a culture that has taken our team to the top. It’s been an honor to have been his head coach for the past two seasons.”
Already on Saturday resignation rumors
ESPN reported on Saturday that Brady would end his NFL career. However, the Buccaneers and Tom Brady’s father disagreed: the quarterback had not yet made a decision about a possible career end.
Now, three days later, Brady took the guesswork out of himself.
Tom Brady: A Unique NFL Career
Brady is the only player in NFL history to have won the Super Bowl seven times. He got six of the titles with the New England Patriots. After moving to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he also won the Super Bowl title there in 2021. In this year’s playoffs, Brady with the Buccaneers narrowly failed against the Los Angeles Rams despite a furious race to catch up in the divisional round.
Brady was drafted by the New England Patriots as the 199th pick in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL draft and, together with head coach Bill Belichick, founded a unique era in NFL history. Overall, Brady was a five-time Super Bowl MVP, 15-time Pro Bowler. In 22 NFL seasons, he totaled 84,520 passing yards and 624 passing touchdowns with just 203 interceptions.
You want the most important NFL news, videos and data directly on your smartphone? Then get the new ran app with push notifications for the most important news in your favorite sport. Available in the App Store for Apple and Android.