Tom Brady officially announces his retirement from the NFL – KESQ

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(CNN) –– American football legend and seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady announced his retirement from the NFL via an Instagram post on Tuesday.

Tom Brady in statistics: titles, yards and touchdown passes

Brady, 44, a quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has spent 22 seasons in the NFL. He is also considered possibly the best quarterback: he was a three-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) and a 15-time Pro Bowl selection.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tom Brady (@tombrady)

“I have always believed that the sport of football is an ‘all-in’ bet: if there is not a commitment to 100% competition, you will not succeed. And success is what I love most about our game,” Brady wrote.

“There is a physical, mental and emotional challenge EVERY day that has allowed me to maximize my full potential. And I’ve done my best these past 22 years. There are no shortcuts to success on the field or in life. This is hard for me to write, but here it goes: I’m not going to have that competitive commitment anymore,” he continued.

1 of 26 | Tom Brady holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy after leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Super Bowl victory in February 2021. Credit: Patrick Smith/Getty Images 2 of 26 | Brady played college football at the University of Michigan. He started for the Wolverines in his junior and senior seasons, going 20-5. Peter Read Miller/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images 3 of 26 | Brady grew up in San Mateo, California and played football, basketball and baseball before joining Michigan. Jamie Squire/Allsport/Getty Images 4 of 26 | Brady started his career by backing up Drew Bledsoe. But when Bledsoe was injured in September 2001, Brady got a chance to shine. He started and led the Patriots to the Super Bowl. Winslow Townson/AP 5 of 26 | Brady fumbles after being hit by Oakland’s Charles Woodson during an NFL playoff game in January 2002. The Patriots got the ball back and won the game, but the controversial play was hotly debated. The “fold rule” was finally repealed in 2013. Jim Davis/The Boston Globe/Getty Images 6 of 26 | Brady and the Patriots returned to the Super Bowl in 2004, winning another title over the Carolina Panthers. They repeated the next season with a Super Bowl victory over Philadelphia. Jeff Gross/Getty Images 7 of 26 | Brady and Patriots coach Bill Belichick celebrate after a playoff victory in January 2007. The two were together throughout Brady’s Patriots career. Kirby Lee/Getty Images 8 of 26 | Brady surrounded by the media in 2007. The Patriots went undefeated in the regular season but lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. Stephan Savoia/AP 9 of 26 | New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck takes the ball from Brady during the Super Bowl in February 2008. Chris O’Meara/AP 10 of 26 | Brady leaves the field in 2012 after another Super Bowl loss to the Giants. Jim Davis/The Boston Globe/Getty Images 11 of 26 | Brady kisses his mother, Galynn, after the Patriots defeated Seattle for their fourth Super Bowl title in February 2015. David J. Phillip / AP 12 of 26 | Brady is taunted by a rival fan as he walks onto the field in August 2015. Brady was ultimately suspended four games in the “Deflategate” controversy, which involved allegations that the Patriots purposely deflated balls to gain an offensive advantage in a Championship game. of the AFC. Grant Halverson/Getty Images 13 of 26 | Brady steps back during a game against Dallas in October 2015. Christian Petersen/Getty Images 14 of 26 | Brady goes to federal court to appeal his suspension for “Deflategate.” Andrew Burton/Getty Images 15 of 26 | Brady holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy after leading the Patriots to their fifth Super Bowl victory in 2017. The Patriots trailed 28-3 before pulling off the biggest Super Bowl comeback in history and winning in overtime. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images 16 of 26 | Brady and his wife, model Gisele Bundchen, attend the Met Gala in New York in 2018. Ray Tamarra / GC Images / Getty Images 17 of 26 | Brady celebrates after an overtime victory in January 2019 that put the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Jeff Roberson/AP 18 of 26 | Brady celebrates with his daughter, Vivian, after winning his sixth Super Bowl in 2019. Jamie Squire / Getty Images 19 of 26 | Brady’s last game with the Patriots was a playoff loss to Tennessee in January 2020. Greg M. Cooper/USA Today Sports 20 of 26 | Brady throws a pass during a game against Carolina in September 2020. Brady finished the regular season with 40 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions as the Buccaneers went 11-5. Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images 21 of 26 | Brady celebrates at the end of the Buccaneers’ victory over Kansas City in Super Bowl LV. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the game. Ben Liebenberg/AP 22 of 26 | Brady tosses the Vince Lombardi Trophy to his teammates as they celebrate his title during a parade of boats in Tampa, Florida, in February 2021. Kyle Zedaker / Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23 of 26 | President Joe Biden laughs at a joke made by Brady, who visited the White House with his Tampa Bay teammates in July 2021. Drew Angerer/Getty Images 24 of 26 | Brady runs off the field after the Buccaneers defeated his old team, the New England Patriots, in October 2021. It was Brady’s first game in New England since he left the franchise in 2020. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images 25 of 26 | Brady throws a pass during a playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams in January 2022. The Rams eliminated the Buccaneers 30-27. Kim Klement/USA Today Sports 26 of 26 | Brady walks off the field after the playoff loss to the Rams. Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

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“I have loved my career in the NFL, and now is the time to focus my time and energy on other things that require my attention. I did a lot of thinking last week and asked myself hard questions. And I am very proud of what we have achieved,” he added.

“My teammates, coaches, fellow competitors and fans deserve 100% from me. But, right now, it’s best that I leave the field of play to the next generation of dedicated and committed athletes.”

Brady just finished his 22nd season in the NFL. This is his second with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Tom Brady: “My playing career has been a very exciting journey”

In his announcement, he thanked his Buccaneers teammates, coaching staff, family and agents.

“My playing career has been a very exciting journey, far beyond my imagination and full of ups and downs,” Brady said. “When you’re in this every day, you don’t really consider any kind of ending.”

“However, as I sit here now, I think of all the great players and coaches I had the privilege to play with and against – the competition was fierce and deep, JUST LIKE WE LIKE IT. But friendships and relationships are just as fierce and deep. I will remember and treasure these memories and revisit them often. I feel like the luckiest person in the world,” he insisted.

For their part, the Buccaneers thanked Brady for his role on the team. On their Twitter account, the team posted: “Forever a part of Buccaneers history. Thanks for everything, Tom Brady.”

Tom Brady’s career

During his career spanning more than two decades, Brady won seven Super Bowl titles: six with the New England Patriots and one with the Buccaneers.

Brady retires as the NFL’s all-time No. 1 in passing yards (84,520), touchdown passes (624), completions (7,263), regular season wins (243), playoff wins (35 ), to name some of the records he achieved in his career.

However, his start was a bit more difficult. Brady was selected 199th in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the Patriots and was not intended to be the starting quarterback. The Patriots already had three-time Pro Bowl selection Drew Bledsoe.

The Boston Herald reported at the time that Patriots coach Bill Belichick said the team chose Brady because he was the highest-rated player still available in the sixth round. Brady ended up spending 20 seasons on the team, with which he won six Super Bowl titles.

(Credit: Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

In 2020, the player left the Patriots and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, leading them to a Super Bowl win in his first of two seasons.

With the Super Bowl win with Tampa Bay, Brady joined Peyton Manning as the only starting quarterbacks in NFL history to win a Super Bowl with multiple teams.

Brady is the first quarterback in league history to lead his team to seven Super Bowl wins. He edged out Terry Bradshaw (four) and Joe Montana (four). Brady’s 10 Super Bowl appearances are more than any other franchise in the Super Bowl era.

In his final season, Brady led the league in passing yards (5,316) and touchdowns (43) and earned an NFL-best 15th Pro Bowl selection.

Rumors of his retirement

Over the weekend, Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington of ESPN and The Boston Globe reported that Brady was retiring, citing unnamed sources.

But on Sunday, a source familiar with the situation told CNN that “Brady contacted (Tampa Bay) Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht (on Saturday) to inform him that he has yet to make a final decision on his future.” ”.

Still, after saying Monday that he hadn’t made the decision to retire, Brady confirmed the news Tuesday.

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