Tom Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion and a three-time NFL MVP, announced his retirement on Wednesday.
“I’m retiring for good,” he said in a video posted on social media. “I know the process was a pretty big deal last time so when I woke up this morning, I figured I’d just press record and let you guys know first.”
“I won’t be long-winded. You only get one super emotional retirement essay, and I used mine up last year so. Really, thank you guys so much to every single one of you for supporting me: my family, my friends, my teammates, my competitors — I could go on forever, there’s too many. Thank you guys for allowing me to live my absolute dream. I wouldn’t change a thing. Love you all.”
Brady, 45, appeared in a record 10 Super Bowls and won six titles with the New England Patriots and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during his 23-year career. He is also the only player to be named Super Bowl MVP five times.
He leaves the gridiron as a certain first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer when he becomes eligible for enshrinement in Canton, Ohio.
Brady originally announced his retirement in February 2022 but changed his mind 40 days later. That led to a season of frustration as the Bucs went 8-9 in the regular season — Brady’s first losing season as a starter at any level of football, USA Today reported.
That includes his years at Junipero Serra High School in California (1993-94), the University of Michigan (1998-99) and the NFL.
Tampa Bay ended its 2022 season with a 31-14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in an NFC wild-card playoff game on Jan. 16. After a mediocre first half, which included his first red zone interception since 2019, Brady finished with two touchdowns and went 35-for-66 for 351 yards.
His final touchdown of the game was an 8-yard pass to Cameron Brate with 2:04 to play. Brady then completed a 2-point conversion pass to Mike Evans to end the scoring.
During his career, Brady threw for an NFL-record 89,214 yards and 649 touchdowns during the regular season. He spent his first 20 seasons with the Patriots, where he won Super Bowl titles after the 2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016 and 2018 seasons. He added a seventh Super Bowl title with Tampa Bay after the 2020 season.
Including his postseason statistics, Brady is the only player in NFL history to pass for more than 100,000 yards in his career. He passed that mark this year on Nov. 6 against the Los Angeles Rams when he hit Leonard Fournette on a 16-yard completion.
Brady’s 13,400 postseason passing yards give him 102,614 for his career. He threw 88 touchdowns in the playoffs.
Brady led the Patriots to a perfect regular season in 2007, making the Patriots the second NFL team to finish a regular season with an unbeaten, untied record. But New England’s quest to join the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only teams that went wire to wire without a loss was thwarted when Eli Manning and the New York Giants stunned the Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII. New England finished the season 18-1.
The Patriots would lose again to Manning and the Giants four years later in Super Bowl XLVI, falling 21-17.
New England used a last-second goal-line interception to beat Seattle in Super Bowl XLIX, but it was Brady’s performance in Super Bowl LI in February 2017 that was his most memorable performance.
The Patriots were trailing the Atlanta Falcons 28-3 in the third quarter, but a Brady-led comeback led to a tie game and the first overtime contest in Super Bowl history. New England won the game 34-28 in overtime.
Brady signed a two-year, $50 million contract with Tampa Bay in March 2020 as a free agent, the Tampa Bay Times reported. He led the Buccaneers to their first Super Bowl title since the 2002 season and the team’s first divisional crown since 2007.
Brady led the NFL in yards passing (5,316), touchdowns (43), completions (485) and attempts (719) during the 2021 season.
In 2022, he broke his completions record with 490. He also threw for 4,694 yards, marking the sixth consecutive season Brady passed for at least 4,000 yards. He has topped the 4,000 mark 14 times.
By topping the 5,000 mark in 2021, Brady became the oldest quarterback to top that plateau, NBC News reported.
Brady’s 251-82 regular season includes a 219-64 mark during his 20 years in New England and 32-18 showing in his three seasons in Tampa Bay, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com.
His 35 postseason victories are the most in NFL history. Brady has gone 35-13 in the playoffs -- 30-11 in New England and 5-2 in Tampa Bay.
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Tom Brady TAMPA, FL - NOVEMBER 23: Tom Brady (12) of the Buccaneers is all smiles before the regular season game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on November 23, 2020 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) (Icon Sportswire/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Tom Brady FILE - In this Jan. 18, 2004, file photo, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, right, talks with Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning after the Patriots 24-14 win during their AFC Championship game in Foxborough, Mass. The rivalry that defined much of Brady's career was the one he had with Manning. Brady won 11 of the 17 meetings, including the first time they met in the playoffs. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File) (CHARLES KRUPA/AP)
Tom Brady BOSTON, MA - DECEMBER 07: Tom Brady is seen on December 07, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Stickman/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images) (Stickman/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
Tom Brady Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) throws a pass during an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong) (Kyusung Gong/AP)
Tom Brady FILE - New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady shakes hands with a fan as he leaves the field after losing an NFL wild-card playoff football game to the Tennessee Titans in Foxborough, in this Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020, file photo. Brady hasn't played an NFL football game in New England since Jan. 4, 2020. But remnants from his 20-year run with the Patriots remain everywhere in Foxborough. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File) (Charles Krupa/AP)
Tom Brady FILE - In this Jan. 14, 2012, file photo, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady celebrates his 19-yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski during the first half of an NFL divisional playoff football game against the Denver Broncos in Foxborough, Mass. Brady had one of his most prolific playoff games at home on Jan. 14, 2012, when he and the Patriots ended Tebow Mania. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File) (Elise Amendola/AP)
Tom Brady Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady yells as enters the field for warmups before an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) (Jae C. Hong/AP)
Tom Brady FILE - In this Jan. 10, 2015, file photo, New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) celebrates his touchdown catch from Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) in the second half of an NFL divisional playoff football game against the Baltimore Ravens in Foxborough, Mass. Brady has engineered nine fourth-quarter comebacks in the playoffs but just four of those came at home. Perhaps the most memorable of those New England comebacks outside of the Tuck Rule game, game on Jan. 10, 2015, against Baltimore. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File) (Elise Amendola/AP)
Tom Brady LOUISVILLE, KY - MAY 06: Tom Brady attends the 143rd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 6, 2017 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Stephen J. Cohen/Getty Images) (Stephen J. Cohen/Getty Images)
Tom Brady Football: New England Patriots QB Tom Brady (12) and Rob Gronkowski (87) victorious after scoring touchdown during game vs Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Indianapolis, IN 11/16/2014
CREDIT: David E. Klutho (Photo by David E. Klutho /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
(Set Number: X158945 TK1 ) (David E. Klutho/Sports Illustrated via Getty Ima)
Tom Brady TAMPA, FL - FEBRUARY 07: Tom Brady (12) of the Buccaneers drops back to pass during the Super Bowl LV game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on February 7, 2021 at Raymond James Stadium, in Tampa, FL. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) (Icon Sportswire/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Tom Brady JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - APRIL 24: Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady arrives backstage during the UFC 261 event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on April 24, 2021 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Tom Brady TOPSHOT - Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots holds the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in overtime during Super Bowl 51 at NRG Stadium on February 5, 2017 in Houston, Texas.
The Patriots defeated the Falcons 34-28 after overtime. / AFP PHOTO / Timothy A. CLARY (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images) (TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)
Tom Brady TAMPA, FL - NOVEMBER 29: Tom Brady (12) of the Buccaneers shakes hands with Patrick Mahomes (15) of the Chiefs after the regular season game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on November 29, 2020 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) (Icon Sportswire/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Tom Brady TAMPA, FL - NOVEMBER 08: Two of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history Drew Brees (9) of the Saints and Tom Brady (12) of the Buccaneers share a few words of encouragement after the regular season game between the New Orleans Saints and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on November 08, 2020 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) (Icon Sportswire/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Tom Brady NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 06: Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen attend The 2019 Met Gala Celebrating Camp: Notes on Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 06, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/WireImage) (Theo Wargo/WireImage)
Tom Brady US President Joe Biden holds a jersey alongside Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians (2nd R) and quarterback Tom Brady (R) during a ceremony honoring the Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL football team for their Super Bowl LV Championship on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, July 20, 2021. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images) (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Tom Brady FOXBORO, UNITED STATES: New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (C) takes a hit from Charles Woodson (R) of the Oakland Raiders on a pass attempt in the last two minutes of the game in their AFC playoff 19 January 2002 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. The Patriots won 16-13 in overtime. AFP PHOTO/Matt CAMPBELL (Photo credit should read MATT CAMPBELL/AFP via Getty Images) (MATT CAMPBELL/AFP via Getty Images)
Tom Brady NEW ORLEANS, UNITED STATES: New England Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady celebrates with head coach Bill Belichick (R) after their win over the St. Louis Rams 03 February, 2002 in Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Patriots defeated the Rams 20-17 for the NFL championship. AFP PHOTO/Jeff HAYNES (Photo credit should read JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images) (JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images)
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