Tom Brady has officially retired, announcing he is done "for good" from football, ending a prolific 23-year career in the NFL that will never be replicated. The former sixth-round pick's illustrious career featuring nearly every accolade plausible, cements his role as the greatest to have ever played the position. His impact on the game of football and anthology cannot be defined by mere statistics. Brady's tenure in the NFL can more accurately be described as art manifested into reality on the gridiron. If you broke his career up into parts – he would still have a case for immortalization in Canton for every decade he's been in the league. The obsession. The drive. The will. The hunger. The mastery of throws – all combine to form the anomaly that is Tom Brady.
Brady is a seven-time Super Bowl winner who ends his career as the NFL's all-time leader in passing yards (89,214), and touchdown passes (649). The three-time league MVP passed for 4,694 yards – third most in the NFL – and 25 touchdowns in 2022, his third year with the Buccaneers.
From 2000-2011, Brady went 140-41, passed for 45,264 yards, threw 338 touchdown passes, won 16 playoff games, three of which were Super Bowls. From 2012-2021, he went 138-44, passed for 52,305 yards, threw 372 touchdowns, won 19 playoff games, four of which were Super Bowls.
This is a guy who in his 23 NFL seasons has been selected to the Pro Bowl a record-15 times. He's a three-time 1st-Team All-Pro selected, three-time AP MVP and a seven-time Super Bowl Champion, which is not only the most of any player, but it's also more than any franchise.
Tom Brady ranks first all-time in:
- Wins: 251
- Pro Bowls: 15
- Super Bowl MVP Awards: 5
- Completions: 7,753
- Attempts: 12,050
- Passing Yards: 89,214
- Passing Touchdowns: 649
In the postseason, he leads in:
- Appearances (season): 20
- Games Started: 48
- Wins: 35
- Super Bowl Appearances: 10
- Super Bowl Wins: 7
- Completions: 1,200
- Passing Yards: 13,400
- Passing Touchdowns: 88
- Game-Winning Drives: 14
- Fourth-Quarter Comebacks: 9
He finishes as the most accomplished player in NFL history, which is why he is invariably linked to the nickname, G.O.A.T. That begins with his seven Super Bowl championships, which is more than any other NFL franchise owns. The seventh came in his first year with the Buccaneers in 2020, as he led that team to a dominant victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. He was selected for more Pro Bowls (15) than any other player at any position in league history. He is a three-time Associated Press NFL MVP selection and a five-time Super Bowl MVP.
As a Buccaneer, Brady needed just three seasons to rise to second on the team's all-time touchdown pass list (108, behind Jameis Winston's 121) and third on the passing yardage list (14,643, behind Winston's 19,737 and Vinny Testaverde's 14,820). He also set new single-season franchise records in virtually every category in 2021 when he completed 485 of 719 passes for 5,316 yards and 43 touchdowns. His arrival as an unrestricted free agent in 2020 ushered in the most successful three-season stint in Bucs' franchise history, including the aforementioned Super Bowl championship and the first back-to-back division titles in team records.
