BOSTON — Will the second Tom Brady retirement be the charm?
Let’s hope so.
While watching the GOAT still provided a thrill, not to mention constant amazement given how good he looked throwing a football at age 45, it’s time.
For 23 seasons, Brady defied the odds. He managed to stay a step ahead of Father Time. But it was closing in, and Brady never wanted to stick around and leave after his skills had totally faded. He didn’t want to stumble at the finish line.
His famous line was: “When I suck, I’ll retire.”
While he didn’t suck this year, he’s getting out just in time, because the cracks were starting to show here and there.
“Every year I just have to make sure that I have the ability to commit to what the team really needs. And that’s really important to me,” Brady told Jim Gray during a SiriusXM NFL podcast a year ago after he retired the first time. “The team doesn’t deserve anything less than my best. And if I feel like I’m not committed to that, or I can’t play at a championship level, then you gotta give someone else a chance to play.”
He might not have been “championship level,” but he was still Tampa Bay’s best player this season, setting an NFL record for most attempts (733) and most completions (490) in a season. But even with that, it didn’t translate to much as the Bucs only averaged a little over 18.0 points per game, among the worst in the league.
He could still play, and could still win in the right circumstances with a great team around him, but finding that circumstance and squeezing out another year or more wasn’t worth it.
Being a free agent, playing for Miami might have been appealing, given that’s where his kids are with former wife Gisele Bundchen. But the Dolphins said they didn’t want him.
So then what, head to Las Vegas or San Francisco for one last kick at the can? And that’s if either of those teams wanted a soon-to-be 46-year-old quarterback?
What was the point? Brady has nothing more to prove. He’s proved it, and then some.
Even people in his camp reached by the Boston Herald shortly after Brady’s early morning video announcement believe it’s the right time.
And Brady sure sounded like this was it, saying he was retiring for good.
While he didn’t go out in a blaze of glory, getting to the playoffs with an 8-9 record, losing badly in the wild-card round to the Dallas Cowboys, in the long run, not having a fairy tale ending really doesn’t matter.
His legacy is well intact.
He had seven Super Bowl wins, including six with the Patriots. He’s thrown for the most passing yards in NFL history and holds just about every conceivable record for a quarterback.
Whether it’s most Super Bowl wins (7), most playoff starts (48), most playoff wins (35), most playoff touchdown passes (86), and most completions overall, you name it, Brady’s name is attached.
The fact that he led the NFL with 5,316 passing yards and 43 touchdowns at age 44 last season is mind-blowing. It won’t happen again. He also won a Super Bowl with a second team at age 43.
While the current rage is to say Patrick Mahomes will unseat Brady as the greatest ever, the Chiefs star still has a long, long, way to go before getting into the GOAT’s neighborhood.
Mahomes is certainly great, and the best quarterback in the game right now. And he’s headed for more greatness.
But Brady won four championships in his first five seasons. Mahomes has won one, and might have two after six. Brady is among the greatest winners of all time in any sport. Right now, Mahomes is just scratching the surface. Let’s see where he’s at in five to 10 more years, if he lasts that long.
At this point, Brady remains the reference standard. He leaves as the greatest of all time.
Fans in New England had him for an unforgettable two decade run, providing an unprecedented haul of success and indelible memories during championship seasons and beyond.
After un-retiring six months after his initial retirement a year ago, people weren’t surprised by his return, and were still in awe of his accomplishments.
“He just maintains that legacy more and more even though he doesn’t have to,” said former teammate Ty Law. “There’s not very many people in the world who can do what he’s doing especially at his age, and playing at such a high level for so long. It’s unheard of. You probably won’t see that again in our lifetime.”
Given his short-lived retirement previously, some may have their doubts about Brady staying the course this time around. But this seems like the end, and the close of a magical ride.
There won’t ever be another Brady. That much is for certain.
