Tom Brady Retires After 23 Seasons in the National Football League: A Career Retrospective

On Wednesday, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady retired after his third season with the team. It was his 23rd season in professional football as a whole. He spent his previous 20 seasons in the NFL with the New England Patriots.

Brady’s impact on the game of football is well-regarded. He is recognized by many as being the greatest player ever.

With seven Super Bowls, three MVPs, and 15 pro bowl selections, he let an everlasting mark on football forever.

The announcement came in the morning as Brady seemed to be stern with the idea that this retirement would be for good.

In a video, the 45-year-old said “You only get one super emotional retirement essay, and I used mine up last year. So I really thank you guys so much”.

Brady originally retired on Feb. 1 of 2022 and came back 40 days later to play this past season. The Buccaneers won their second straight NFC South title and finished 8-9 before losing to the Dallas Cowboys in the wild card round. It was Brady’s only losing season of his career.

New England TB12

Prior to his time in the Bay, Brady had 20 seasons in New England. With the Patriots, he finished with 74,571 yards and 541 touchdowns. The accolades where also a plenty in New England; he won six Super Bowls and all three of his MVPs with the Pats (in 2007, 2010, and 2017).

In 2007, he nearly lead the Patriots to the first perfect season in the league since 1972 (when the Miami Dolphins completed the task). His MVP season was spectacular with 4,806 yards and an insane TD-INT ratio of 50-8.

His playoff stats in New England were legendary and really pushes for his GOAT argument. With a 30-11 playoff record with the Patriots, he finished with 11,388 yards and 73 touchdowns. He also made the AFC Championship an outstanding 13 times. This means he has made the AFC championship game in about 57% of his seasons.

Brady leads the Pats all time in career and single season passing yards as well as career and single season passing touchdowns. In fact, he has beaten his own single season passing record in New England five times over the course of his 20 years with the team.

Brady’s final season in New England came in 2019 with a wild card loss to the Tennessee Titans in Gillette Stadium being his final game.

TB12 in Tampa Bay

Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on March 20, 2020 looking for a fresh start. In the prior season, Tampa Bay finished 7-9 with Jameis Winston as their starting quarterback. Winston led the league in passing yards in 2019 (5,109), however, head coach Bruce Arians wanted a change based on the 30 interceptions Winston threw (which also led the league).

With Brady at the helm, there was now new light in Tampa Bay. The team ended its 12-year playoff drought in Brady’s first season and finished 11-5. They were unable to win the division, however, made it to the Super Bowl and defeated the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 on home turf.

The next season, in 2021, Brady lead the Bucs to their best regular season record ever (13-3). They also won the NFC South for the first time since 2007, which was Brady’s first MVP season in New England. However, the team lost to the eventual Super Bowl 56 champion Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round, ending their back-to-back Super Bowl bid.

His 2021 season with the Bucs is the single-most passing yards in a season by a QB (5,316). He also beat his previous 2020 Bucs record for most passing yards in a season (40) in 2021 by earning 43 touchdowns.

Brady finished 32-18 overall in a Buccaneer uniform.

League Impact

Brady’s career totals are on top of the NFL. He finished with 89,214 yards which is a career NFL record. He also has the most passing yards in the playoffs by nearly 6,000 yards over the next guy. He also is the all time passing touchdown leader (649). He also has the most playoff wins (35) of any quarterback ever. That number doubles Joe Montana’s 16 playoff wins, which is second place.

Brady’s impact on the league will forever be missed. However, he may still be with us on Sundays because Fox Sports offered the quarterback a 10-year, $375 million deal to do broadcasting. Something for the GOAT to consider.

He is also up for the 2028 Hall of Fame class.