It’s finally over. After a legendary 22-year NFL career, the greatest football player to every put on pads, Tom Brady, has retired from football.

Brady broke the news with a lengthy statement on Twitter on February 1st.

Although this happened three weeks ago, and may seem like old news to some, I feel that it is simply too big to not write about. The reason as to why this is coming out so last is due to the Super Bowl largely overshadowing Brady’s announcement, which was reportedly by design from the GOAT, as he did not want to draw too much attention when he made the announcement.

As far as Tom’s career accomplishments go, they are a laundry list. Brady has the most passing touchdowns ever, with 624, the most passing yards ever, with 84,520, and the most completions ever, with 7,263. He also has the most playoff touchdowns ever, with 86, the most playoff passing yards ever, with 13,049, and the most playoff completions ever, with 1,165. His accomplishments do not stop there. Brady has the most wins ever, with 243, and the most playoff wins ever, with 35, and the most super bowl MVPs ever, with 5. Most importantly, Tom Brady has 7 Super Bowl wins, the most ever for any individual player and more than any individual NFL franchise.

Brady started out his career as an under dog, being a sixth-round draft pick in the 2000 NFL Draft who was meant to be a backup for Patriots QB Drew Bledsoe. However, in 2001, Brady’s second year, Bledsoe was dealt a severe injury to his lungs against the Jets. Tom Brady stepped in and took the game over and did not look back from there, leading the Patriots to their first franchise super bowl win that year, defeating the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI (36) 20-17. Brady would also go on to win back-to-back Super Bowls between the 2003 and 2004 seasons, becoming a Super Bowl champion in 3 of his first 5 years in the NFL.

In 2007, Brady would lead the Patriots to a perfect 16-0 season, the only other team in the Super Bowl era to go undefeated besides the 1972 Miami Dolphins. Unfortunately for Brady and the Pats, unlike the ’72 Dolphins, they would go on to lose in the Super Bowl to Eli Manning and the Giants. Although he was unable to hoist the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season, Brady still captured his first of three MVP awards in 2007, due largely to throwing 50 touchdowns that year. His other two came in 2010, which he won unanimously, and in 2017 (when he was 40).

Brady was able to win his fourth Super Bowl in 2014 after a 10 year drought (by his standards) when the Patriots defeated the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX (49) with a score of 28-24. Brady and the Patriots would miss the Super Bowl the next season, losing to the Broncos in the AFC Championship Game that year, before returning in 2016 for Super Bowl LI (51), the game that would truly make Tom Brady the GOAT…

With just over 3 minutes left in the third quarter, the Patriots were down 28-3 to the Atlanta Falcons. It seemed certain that the Falcons would capture their franchise’s first Super Bowl win, and some rumors have started that victory parade routes were already being planned in Atlanta. What happened over the rest of the game will forever live in NFL history. Through the end of the third and the entire fourth quarter, the Patriots, with Brady at the helm, managed to score 3 touchdowns, 2 2-point conversions, and a field goal, while shutting out the Falcons entirely. With these scores and the shutting down of the Falcons, the Patriots managed to tie the game 28-28 at the end of regulation. Going into overtime, the Patriots won the coin toss and elected to receive and go on offense. On the first drive, Brady would lead the Patriots down the field, scoring with a run from running back James White. With a final score of 34-28, the Patriots, led by Tom Brady, had completed the most improbable comeback in Super Bowl history. With this win, Brady would officially become the quarterback with the most Super Bowl wins in NFL history.

After losing to Nick Foles and the Eagles the following year in Super Bowl LII (52), Brady would bounce back in the 2018 season and lead the Patriots to both their and his sixth Super Bowl title in Super Bowl LIII (53). With this win, Brady would become the sole NFL player with the most Super Bowl wins of all time. He also helped the Patriots tie the Steelers for the most Super Bowl wins for a franchise.

2019 was Brady’s last season in New England, he left for the Buccaneers after 20 years with the Patriots in the 2020 offseason.

Brady’s two seasons in Tampa Bay were an absolute spectacle to behold (especially for my fantasy team both years). He proved any remaining doubters of his GOAT status wrong in 2020 by delivering a Super Bowl win to the Buccaneers in his first season with the team, which would be the team’s second and Brady’s seventh, officially giving him more Super Bowl wins than any NFL franchise as well. His greatness can also be seen in the fact that the Buccaneers made relatively few additions in the off season aside from him and tight end Rob Gronkowski, and had been one of the NFL’s worst teams in the previous several years before bringing Brady on. All it took was Brady, and the Bucs went from nearly the worst to first in just one season. In his second year with the Bucs, and his final year in the NFL, Brady lead the league in passing (his fourth time doing so) and came in second in MVP voting at age 44, a testament to his ability to age flawlessly as a player. It is also important to note that he led the league in passing twice in his 40s, at 40 and 44.

Brady’s career ended with an unfortunate loss to the Rams in the NFC Divisional Round, a game where Brady almost led the Buccaneers to a comeback from a 27-3 deficit, but came up short largely due to his defense. After Brady led the Bucs down the field and tied the game with score of 27-27, the Rams managed to get within field goal range and win the game with a kick as time ran out. Regardless of the final score, this game showed everyone one last time that Tom Brady is the GOAT due to his near comeback win after being down so far.

Now a retired player, Brady looks to expand his TB12 brand, a brand that sells clothing, nutritional products, and fitness products. He also hopes to spend more time with his family, a large reason as to why he retired to begin with.

Rumors have circled that Brady may come out of retirement as soon as the beginning of next season, and they have a significant amount of believers. I, personally, do not buy them (as much as I would love to see a comeback).

Brady will be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2027, when it will be 5 years since his retirement. He will easily be a first ballot selection.