Tom Brady, one of the greatest players in the history of the NFL, has confirmed his retirement.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, 44, won seven Super Bowls in an astonishing career spanning 22 seasons.
Brady won six titles with the New England Patriots before his final triumph with the Buccaneers last year.
“It is best I leave the field of play to the next generation of dedicated and committed athletes,” he said in a statement.
“My playing career has been such a thrilling ride, and far beyond my imagination, and full of ups and downs. When you’re in it every day, you really don’t think about any kind of ending.
“As I sit here now, however, I think of all the great players and coaches I was privileged to play with and against – the competition was fierce and deep, just how we like it.
“But the friendships and relationships are just as fierce and deep. I will remember and cherish these memories and revisit them often.
“I feel like the luckiest person in the world.”
Brady played in 10 Super Bowls, including an incredible comeback from 28-3 down against the Atlanta Falcons in 2017, and had a perfect 16-0 regular season with the Patriots in 2007.
He won a Super Bowl in three different decades.
‘The greatest professional athlete we have seen’
“What this man has done is almost beyond belief, almost beyond words,” two-time Super Bowl champion Osi Umenyiora told BBC One after Brady won his seventh ring in February 2021.
“I cannot describe the level of difficulty, what it took for this man to do what he’s done.
“Every single year this guy’s been doubted, every single year this man rises to the top like a phoenix. This guy is the greatest professional athlete we have seen in history, and this goes for any sport. And I’m not just saying that to be hyperbolic.
“What this guy is doing in the quarterback position – the hardest position to play in sports – winning over and over again… my hat’s off to this guy.”
