The “Greatest Ever”
Football legend Tom Brady resigns
01/29/2022 at 9:14 p.m
22 years in the NFL and seven Super Bowl triumphs are enough: Tom Brady, the most successful football professional of all time, will turn his back on his sport. His final season ended in disappointment. One of the few in a great career.
It really is over what seemed forever: Tom Brady will no longer be part of the NFL. The now 44-year-old will announce his retirement from football, according to NFL insiders from the US broadcaster ESPN, before other media followed suit. After 22 seasons in the world’s greatest football league, seven Super Bowl triumphs for the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and untold stats to last forever, Brady will indeed retire to family life as the “Greatest Ever.” .
The family is said to have played a crucial role in Brady’s decision, according to the first reports. The football legend is married to model Gisele Bundchen and they have three children together. “It hurts her when she sees me getting hit out there,” Brady said, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “And she deserves what she needs from me as a husband and my children deserve what they need from me as a father.” Now he apparently came to the conclusion that it really was about time. Exactly 20 years after his first Super Bowl as a starting quarterback for the New England Patriots.
At 44, the measure of all things
In terms of sport, there was no reason to withdraw – on the contrary: “TB12” was also the measure of all things in the past regular season. Although he clearly missed his goal of leading the Bucs to their title defense, his 5,316 passing yards set a new career high even for the king of almost all relevant quarterback statistics. He leads the league with 43 touchdown passes and even set an NFL record with 485 completed passes while leading the Bucs to the division title. However, his great career ended in defeat: In the second round of the playoffs, he and his team, which he had led to the second Super Bowl in team history in 2020, lost seconds to the Los Angeles Rams after a great race to catch up with a field goal the end.
In a recent interview, Brady said he wasn’t interested in a farewell tour – returning for another season would have been just that. It’s quite possible that the decision to say goodbye had already been made by the time the egg passed the bars and the end of the Bucs’ title dreams was sealed. Even if he will no longer be on the field in the future: Tom Brady is part of the NFL forever. The three-time MVP is the NFL record holder for completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns and has won five Super Bowl MVPs, plus all the postseason records a quarterback can set.
In Tampa they still had hope
A minor role, ESPN reports on unspecified sources, is said to have played in Brady’s decision that the Buccaneers are apparently planning a restructuring of the squad. Apparently, the team leaders had hoped until the end that Brady would support this project again. After all, the 2019 quarterback personally arranged for wide receiver Antonio Brown and his favorite pass receiver from the immensely successful Patriots years to join the team. Both then played significant roles on their way to the title and Brady had proven that he can build a functioning team like an architect.
With emphasis and good words, they wanted to convince their quarterback to play another year, according to ESPN. Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians told the Tampa Bay Times last Saturday that he was unaware of Brady’s decision to resign. “His agent just told us he hasn’t made up his mind yet.” However, the decision had apparently matured so far that there is now clarity: Tom Brady is starting a new era in the league, which he had dominated for 20 years.
League already says goodbye to the “GOAT”.
The NFL has already said goodbye to the most important player in league history. “GOAT” (Greatest of All Time), the NFL wrote on Twitter, and the league’s homepage said, “TB12 leaves with a trophy case full of awards.” Numerous companions and opponents shared videos and pictures of Brady’s exploits and praised the athlete and the people. New generation star quarterback Patrick Mahomes simply posted a goat, the international social media icon for GOAT – Greatest of all Times!
An official confirmation of his resignation by Brady himself is still pending. It’s a matter of time and respect. “He has a lot of respect for the game and the organization in Tampa and everything they’ve done for him,” a source close to the quarterback told CBS. “He understands the impact this decision would have on the team going forward and he would never want to do anything that jeopardizes the importance of the playoffs. Whatever he decides, I expect him to announce it soon. ”
Announcement the week before the Super Bowl wouldn’t be his style, too much drama, it would detract too much glamor from and focus on Brady’s biggest single sporting event on earth for Brady’s liking. He won’t wait until after the season to curtail his team’s ability to act. It will be quick now. It will be a moment that officially ends an incredible era.