Tom Brady retires again - and 'for good'

Tom Brady retired in an emotional video he posted this morning.

“I know the process was a pretty big deal last time, so when I woke up this morning, I figured I’d just press record and let you guys know first,” Brady says in the video. “I won’t be long-winded. You only get one super emotional retirement essay and I used mine up last year.

“I really thank you guys so much, to every single one of you for supporting me. My family, my friends, teammates, my competitors. I could go on forever. There’s too many. Thank you guys for allowing me to live my absolute dream. I wouldn’t change a thing. Love you all.”

You only get one send off, so this is what we wrote last year: 

He retires as a seven-time Super Bowl champion, a five-time SB MVP, and a three-time league MVP. His teams won 76.8 percent of the games he started (243-73) — and he won over 70 percent of his games with the Patriots and Buccaneers. 

Brady retires as the NFL's leader in passes completed and attempted, yards and TDs. Brady started for 20 seasons (missed 2008 with injury), and he led his teams to 10 Super Bowls in that time — an amazing feat that may not be duplicated.

Brady's NFL career became something out of a movie very quickly and never had an intermission.

He entered as a sixth-round pick of the Patriots in 2000 out of Michigan, and sat fourth on the depth chart. He eventually beat out Damon Huard to become Drew Bledsoe's backup in 2001, and was inserted as the starter when Mo Lewis put Bledsoe in the hospital in a Week 2 loss to the Jets. Brady and the Patriots beat Peyton Manning and the Colts in his first start. Brady never let go of his position, and led the Patriots to one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history, 20-17 in SB XXXVI, and three titles in his first four seasons as a starter.

Brady transformed himself during his career, from quintessential game manager early to an aerial assassin from 2007 to about 2012. The Patriots and Brady finally found the right formula again in 2014 — after a decade of not capturing that elusive 4th title — to win another Super Bowl and, again, they won three titles (in five seasons) to form Patriots Dynasty 2.0. Brady's final title with the Patriots in 2018 was a fitting unexpected ride where Brady largely took a back seat to the running game outside of clutch late-game performances against the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game, and Rams in Super Bowl LIII.

Brady departed the Patriots on his own, and sometimes acrimonious, terms after the 2019 season. After not finding much of a market for his services — the 49ers and Titans are just two teams that mistakenly passed on Brady at age 43 — Brady stunned most by signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a talented but rudderless ship that was sunk the previous season by a record number of turnovers. Brady led them to an 11-5 regular season. After a 7-5 start, the Bucs won their final eight games.

For his entire career — start to finish — Brady stood out with his mind, competitiveness, and a clutch gene that rivaled if not surpassed the greatest athletes in other sports. Brady's teams were never out of any game — the 28-3 comeback vs. the Falcons in Super Bowl LI the most historic example — even in his last start. Tampa trailed the Rams 27-3 midway through the third quarter last Sunday, and tied the game with 42 seconds left.

Every start was breathtaking. Every dropback from center could end up being magical.

That was Tom Brady, as a player, in a nutshell. Everything he touched turned to gold, especially for Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick, countless coaches and teammates.

(And, yes, media members. Chronicling the last half of Brady's career, and watching his film intently, has been one of the greatest honors of my career.)

This is 100 percent true: If this is indeed it for Brady, we will never pass this way again. He was truly one of a kind, and we were all lucky to be witnesses to his greatness for 22 years.