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New England Patriots

Prominent sports figures pay tribute to Tom Brady after retirement announcement

Matt Dolloff February 2nd, 2022
ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 03: Tom Brady of the New England Patriots embraces with Robert Kraft owner of the New England Patriots after the Patriots defeat the Rams 13-3 during Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

After 22 unparalleled seasons in the NFL, Tom Brady is retiring from professional football. As you would expect, the tributes came flooding in from across the football world soon after Brady’s announcement.

Brady is retiring just one season short of reaching his longtime goal of playing at age 45. But he rides out with a legacy as the greatest winner the sport has ever seen, with six Super Bowl titles in New England and one incredibly validating championship run with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

  • Tom Brady talks with owner Robert Kraft before a preseason game in August 2019.

    Despite the glaring omission of anyone from New England or the Patriots, Tom Brady’s retirement announcement still got a glowing statement from Robert Kraft. The team posted their own statements and tributes to Brady’s career as part of an outpouring of adulation for the seven-time Super Bowl champion.

    Others who gave their own statements or tributes include Peyton Manning, Alex Guerrero, and others across the NFL.

    Here’s a quick look at the most notable tributes and statements on Brady’s retirement.

    Patriots Twitter

    Duck Boats have become something of a Boston sports icon, mainly due to the success of Brady and the Patriotsover the past two decades. So it makes sense to pay tribute to him through artwork by honoring all the winnin’.

  • NFL commissioner Roger Goodell

    Goodell’s statement likely induced eye-rolls from Patriots fans more than anything. Publicly, anyway, Brady’s relationship with Goodell in the league offices was at times adversarial. The commissioner and his minions were Public Enemy No. 1 during Deflategate, and that may never change in the hearts and minds of New Englanders.

    So, those people are probably hoping that Brady saw this statement and said “Uhhh thanks?”

  • Peyton Manning

    Brady vs. Manning was arguably the greatest competitive rivalry in the history of professional sports. They weren’t “rivals” in the sense that there was any bad blood, but their games were always the must-see game of the year, and they obviously have a rich history of playoff competition.

    There are probably a lot of people out there who consider them to be the two greatest quarterbacks of all time. What other sports rivalry can say that?

  • Alex Guerrero

    It wouldn’t be a Brady celebration without Guerrero, his longtime trainer and business partner with the TB12 brand. It’ll be (mildly) interesting to see what their relationship looks like going forward, now that he won’t need Guerrero’s help getting ready for and recovering from football games.

  • The New York Jets

    It’s funny because he even ripped the Jets’ hearts out earlier this season.

  • Robert Kraft

    Brady caused a massive stir when New England realized that he made no mention of the Patriots, anyone within the organization, or their fans when he announced his retirement. But Kraft took the high road.

    Soon after the above statement, Brady quote-tweeted it, thanking “Patriots Nation.” Wasn’t nearly good enough to undo the damage he’d done with a lot of fans by omitting them from his initial announcement.

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Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @mattydsays. You can also email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.

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