Former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is retiring from football after 22 seasons, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Brady retires with seven Super Bowl championships to his credit, the most of any player and more than any one franchise in NFL history.
Brady’s final game came in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 30-27 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the 2021 divisional round. He had long desired to play football until age 45, and made it to 44. But he calls it a career with a resume that will take a while for anyone to catch up, if they can at all.
Brady won six of his seven Super Bowl championships in New England, starting in 2001 and again in 2003-04, 2014, 2016, and 2018. He left the Patriots in free agency to join the Bucs in 2020, and went 11-5 while throwing 40 touchdown passes in the regular season. He threw three touchdown passes for the Bucs in their 31-9 win over the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, and won his fifth Super Bowl MVP award.
The Dynasty
GLENDALE, AZ – FEBRUARY 01: Tom Brady #12, team owner Robert Kraft, and head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots celebrate with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 to win Super Bowl XLIX at University of Phoenix Stadium on February 1, 2015 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Brady retires with all kinds of NFL records to his credit, but he will best be remembered for his partnership with Bill Belichick in New England. Brady went 219-64 as a starter in 19 seasons with the Patriots, and 30-11 in the playoffs. He burst onto the scene in 2001 after a freak injury sidelined quarterback Drew Bledsoe in Week 2 of the 2001 season, in what would reveal itself over time as a seminal moment in Patriots history.
The 2001 Patriots started 5-5, then won nine games in a row to close out the season, culminating with their stunning victory over the heavily-favored Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. Brady went 5-of-7 for 47 yards on the Patriots’ final drive, before spiking the ball to set up Adam Vinatieri for the game-winning field goal as time expired.
Brady and Belichick would go on to win two more Super Bowls over the next three seasons, and play in two more from 2005-13, both losses to the New York Giants. For all his historic wins, Brady’s most infamous loss will most certainly be the Patriots’ 17-14 loss to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, which extinguished New England’s chance at an undefeated season.
The Patriots would grab their long-awaited fourth Super Bowl win in the Brady-Belichick era when they defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 in Super Bowl XLIX, which was sealed by Malcolm Butler’s clutch interception at the goal line in the final minute.
The Ultimate Winner
Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the Atlanta Falcons during Super Bowl 51 at NRG Stadium on February 5, 2017 in Houston, Texas. The Patriots defeated the Falcons 34-28. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Any notion that Brady simply rode great teams to championships is way off-base. The Brady-Belichick Patriots found ways to win even on their worst days, and it was often because of their quarterback’s heroics.
Brady should also be remembered for being the master of the game-winning drive. He finished with 14 career game-winning drives in the postseason, eight more than second-place John Elway. Brady also had 53 career game-winning drives in the regular season, second only to Peyton Manning’s 54.
Brady’s most famous comeback will always be the Patriots’ 34-28 win over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI, which has come to be immortalized by the moniker “28-3”, referring to the Falcons’ largest lead in the game before the Patriots came all the way back and won in overtime.
Super Bowl XLIX also featured an iconic Brady comeback, when he went 13-of-15 for 124 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. A late touchdown pass to Julian Edelman put the Patriots ahead for good against the Seahawks.
Record-Setter
GLENDALE, AZ – FEBRUARY 01: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the Seattle Seahawks during Super Bowl XLIX at University of Phoenix Stadium on February 1, 2015 in Glendale, Arizona. The Patriots defeated the Seahawks 28-24. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Brady retires as, essentially, the Wayne Gretzky of football. He is the NFL’s all-time leader in touchdown passes (624), passing yards (84,520), completions (7,263), pass attempts (11,317), and starts (316). Despite his longevity, Brady has thrown only the 30th-most interceptions in league history, and finished fifth all-time with a 1.8 interception rate.
His 86 career playoff touchdown passes are also first all-time, nearly double that of second-place Joe Montana (45).
Brady also holds several records related to his age. He became the oldest player in league history to throw for 5,000 yards and lead the league in that category when he passed for 5,316 yards with the Bucs at age 44. He became the first player in NFL history to lead the league in yards or touchdowns in any fashion as the league’s oldest active player.