Tom Brady is retiring again.
The 45-year-old quarterback, who spent most of his 23-year career with the New England Patriots and later joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, posted a 52-second video on social media on Wednesday morning announcing his decision.
“Good morning, guys. I’ll get straight to the point right away,” he began. “I’m retiring, for good.”
“I know the process was a pretty big deal last time,” he continued. “So, when I woke up this morning, I figured I’d just press record and let you guys know first.”
“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.”
The announcement comes exactly one year after he had announced his previous retirement, which lasted less than two months.
Brady played his first 20 seasons with the Patriots after being selected in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft out of Michigan. He would lead the team to nine Super Bowl appearances, winning six.
He left New England for Tampa Bay via free agency in 2020 and won his seventh Super Bowl in his first season with the Buccaneers.
Tampa made the playoffs in all three seasons in which Brady was on the team but never made it back to the Super Bowl, losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams in 2021 and the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round this season.
The Buccaneers struggled in Brady’s final season after replacing a retired Bruce Arians with Todd Bowles as head coach. Tampa’s 8-9 record gave Brady the first losing season of his career, even though the Buccaneers still won the NFC South to make it to the postseason.
The offense, in particular, took steps back as production decreased across the board, leading to offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich being fired after the season.
Brady has a standing 10-year agreement with Fox Sports to become its lead NFL analyst. Fox will be airing Super Bowl LVII on February 12, but Brady is not expected to be a part of the broadcast.
Brady was a seven-time Super Bowl champion, 15-time Pro Bowler, three-time All-Pro and Most Valuable Player, and five-time Super Bowl MVP throughout his illustrious career.
He retires as arguably the greatest quarterback of all time and holds nearly every record possible for the position.
