It’s the end of the football era of Tom Brady

Sydney Miller, Media & Online Chief

Tom Brady has retired at the age of 44 after being in the NFL for 22 total seasons and winning seven Super Bowl rings.

Brady has found tremendous success through football; in college he played for the University of Michigan before going on to play for the New England Patriots and finishing his career at Tampa Bay with the Buccaneers.
Although Brady has always had confidence in his abilities, it was doubtful that at the beginning of his career, he would have this much success in the NFL. At 23 years old, he entered the NFL Draft and was drafted as the 199th pick.
Brady was not the first selected quarterback in the Draft; yet he kept working his rookie year. He did not start his first game until 2001.
After Drew Bledsoe suffered a lung injury, Brady was given the starting position in Week 3 of his second season.
At the end of the 2001 season, Brady won his first Super Bowl ring and was named the Super Bowl MVP in Super Bowl XXXVI.
For the next 18 seasons that Brady was with the Patriots, his team would win nine AFC championships and six Super Bowls.
During this time, Brady was named the league MVP three times, in 2007, 2010, and in 2017.
In the off-season before the 2020 season, there were questions as to if Brady would receive an extension deal to continue playing for the Patriots.
These questions were answered in March of that year when Brady announced via social media that he was not returning to New England for the following season.
During this time, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were clear that they wanted Brady as their quarterback, and on March 20, 2020, Brady officially signed with the Buccaneers for a two-year, guaranteed $50 million deal.
In Brady’s first season with the Buccaneers, he started building the perfect team. Rob Gronkowski came out of retirement to play with Brady for the season, and Brady convinced the Bucs to sign Antonio Brown, building an offense with multiple top players.
The same team went onto win Super Bowl LV, with a stunning score of 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. This was a huge success for Brady and the entire Buccaneer franchise. With the addition of Brady, the team went from multiple losing season records to winning a Super Bowl.
In the 2021 NFL season, Brady and the Bucs made it to the NFC divisional round, where they lost 27-30 against the Los Angeles Rams.
Shortly after the divisional round, reports surfaced that Brady would be retiring. These reports kept spreading for days — until February 1 of this year when finally Brady put the rumors to rest.
Tom Brady officially announced his retirement via social media.
Brady’s career has caused an overwhelming majority of people to call him the “GOAT.” This is very well-deserved, considering how many records he currently holds. He holds the most records of any NFL quarterback ever. Additionally, Brady is tied with two NFL franchises for the most Super Bowl rings.
After 22 incredible seasons, Brady has officially left the NFL. He believes that there are different aspects to playing football, and he is choosing to not make the competitive commitment to the game anymore. For his future he is going to focus on other things in his life that require his full attention.