After 22 remarkable seasons in the NFL, longtime Patriots Quarterback has called it quits for his career. Upon weeks of rumors and speculations, Brady made the retirement official within an Instagram post on February 1st, containing his retirement statement.

“This is difficult for me to write, but here it goes: I am not going to make that competitive commitment anymore. I have loved my NFL career, and now it is time to focus my time and energy on other things that require my attention.”, wrote Brady in his statement. Brady outside of the NFL is a husband and father to 3 children, John, Ben, and Vivian Brady.

Throughout his career, Brady has made history and has changed the game. With 7 Superbowl rings, Tom Brady has exceeded the expectations of any NFL quarterback. Tom Brady was a quarterback like no other, leading the New England Patriots to win all of their 6 Superbowl wins, and also leading the Buccaneers to their 2021 Superbowl win. No quarterback has more Superbowl rings than Tom Brady.

One big part of Tom Brady’s career was his best friend, and longtime tight end, Rob Gronkowski. “We were an incredible team,” Gronkowski shares. “We were an incredible combo. We had incredible chemistry over the last 12 years. So with him not playing anymore, it kind of opens up my options because when we were playing together, it just made a lot of sense. We had a great connection, chemistry, everything was there and we wanted to play with each other while he was still playing and while I was still playing.”, said Gronk in an interview with Peoples magazine. Before Brady joined the Tampa Bay Bucs, back in March of 2019. Gronkowski would announce his retirement from the NFL, which would only last 13 months until Gronk joined Brady in Tampa. Now with Brady retired, Gronk now has more options and more to think about with his career.

                   With Brady officially confirming his retirement to the public, does that mean his NFL career is done forever? No. ” Tom Brady is “happy” with his decision to retire and is looking forward to “doing things other than playing” football, but he also said “never say never” when asked about potentially returning to the NFL next season.“Wrote ESPN writer Jenna Laine in her article about Tom Brady’s retirement. The statement from Brady has everyone raising eyebrows about the question: “Is the Tom Brady Era really over? Or is there more to come?. “And, again, I think it’s not looking to reverse course; I’m definitely not looking to do that. But [at] the same time, I think you have to be realistic that you never know what challenges there are gonna be in life. Again, I loved playing.”Added Brady to the statement.

Out of Brady’s 22 seasons spent playing in the NFL, he spent 20 of those seasons playing for the New England Patriots, where he would leave his forever lasting legacy on the Patriots organization, and all of Patriot’s fans. Patriots fans got to witness Brady take the field for the first time, as a backup quarterback, which would become the first step to all of Brady’s milestones and success. Brady would finish his NFL career, winning 243 games, and only losing 73. Brady also finished up his career with 84,520 career yards.

With a professional career like no other athlete, Brady has shaped the NFL and has inspired many young athletes today, including some current young NFL quarterbacks. As most would say, Brady fits the description “GOAT” better than anyone else. As most people would agree with Brady being the greatest of all time, the big question is; Has Brady really stepped off the field for the final time? Or is there more to come? Only time will tell.