There isn’t much left to say about a man who has done it all in the National Football League. Tom Brady has won seven Super Bowl championships – more than any team in NFL history – and has done so with two different franchises. So, at the age of 44, Brady felt it was the right time to step away from the game he has dominated for the last two decades and officially retire.
However, he still hasn’t completely ruled out a return to the field one day.
“I’m just gonna take things as they come,” Brady said when asked about the possibility of an on-field return, via People.com. “I think that’s the best way to put it and I don’t think anything, you know, you never say never.”
“At the same time…I feel very good about my decision. I don’t know how I’ll feel six months from now.”
While Brady did leave the door open slightly for a possible comeback, don’t expect the man who many consider to be the greatest of all time to make his return to action anytime soon. There isn’t anything left to prove considering he holds almost every major NFL record.
Brady is the most successful quarterback of all time, with seven Super Bowl victories and 10 appearances in the big game – both the most in history. He also holds the record for most Super Bowl MVPs, most wins by a quarterback in league history, most career passing attempts, most career passing yards, most career passing completions, most career passing touchdowns and most passing completions in a single season. He is also tied with the longest touchdown pass in NFL history.
The veteran now just wants to ensure he is going “to make the best possible decision I can in the moment, which I did this last week.”
“And, again, I think it’s not looking to reverse course, I’m definitely not looking to do that. But in the same time I think you have to be realistic that you never know what challenges there are gonna be in life,” he added. “Again, I loved playing. I’m looking forward to doing things other than playing. That’s as honest as I can be with you there, Jim.”
Brady wasn’t selected until the 199th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots – proving to be the greatest draft pick of all time considering it was in the sixth round. He spent 20 years playing with the Patriots in New England, winning a total of six Super Bowls with the franchise.
He opted to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prior to the start of last season, which proved to be the right decision. Brady won in his first season in Tampa Bay, showing to the world that he could win a championship without Bill Belichick. It also meant that he had more Super Bowl victories than any team in the NFL.
It’ll be interesting to see what the future holds for Brady and whether we see him as an NFL analyst one day like so many former players. Either way, the game of football will never be the same after the impact Brady has had on it.
