The day has finally come. After 22 of the most successful seasons of all time, Tom Brady has finally called it a career. After a few days of will he/won’t he speculation, Brady officially announced he has played his last down of football in a heartfelt Instagram post. While there is a lot we can learn from his 22 years and seven Super Bowl wins, this season in particular gives us a deep look into the type of player, teammate, and person Brady is.
While other quarterbacks were busy garnering all of the attention with a farewell tour or Instagram stories showing pictures of The Last Dance, Brady was the quietest about his future. Despite his advanced age, it seemed impossible until recently that Brady would retire now. Even after winning the Super Bowl last season, he told the world that he would return next year. Brady showed us what a real last dance should look like in many ways.
While he could have held the Tampa Bay Buccaneers organization hostage over whether or not he would return, Brady let them know before the start of the offseason so they could make plans for the future. While Aaron Rodgers took his team through the whole will he/won’t he ordeal that dragged well into the summer, Brady made a swift decision, putting the Buccaneers in the best possible position.
Last year he signed an extension that pushed all his money back a year. It allowed the Buccaneers to bring back all their starters on the Super Bowl-winning team instead of him demanding more money or complaining when the front office drafted his potential successor. When you look at the time of his retirement, you see that he would have earned $15 million more if he retired after Feb. 4. But that’s not the player Brady is. For him, it was never about the money.
Despite playing at 44, Brady never slowed down or played at a level that was anything other than elite. In recent memory, we have seen the likes of Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees, and Peyton Manning end their careers a shell of their former selves.
The same can’t be said about Brady. We saw him hit Mike Evans in stride for a 55-yard touchdown in his last game while facing the No. 1 defense and the best corner in the NFL in Jalen Ramsey. He could have easily taken a different route and played until he was at this level, but that’s not who Tom Brady is. Even though he’s 44, most fans are left wondering if he had another season or two of elite play left.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway I had from Brady’s final season is just how low-key he kept his retirement. He never hinted that it was his last season or talked about retirement. It wasn’t until Jan. 23 that we even heard that this might be his final season. He could have done a whole farewell tour that would have rivaled the likes of Michael Jordan. But instead of drawing our attention to what could be the end of his career like some other quarterbacks, he decided to prioritize the mission of winning his eighth ring.
At the end of his final game, you could see the resiliency that he showed in the face of adversity. He was without two of his best wideouts and his star right tackle while facing the likes of Aaron Donald, Von Miller, and Ramsey. Though he and the Buccaneers started slow, trailing Rams by three scores with just a quarter and a half to play, he managed to pull the game back to even with under a minute left. He was two Cooper Kupp catches away from taking a seemingly unwinnable game into overtime. Brady didn’t drop his shoulders and accept defeat when his team made a mistake. He pushed forward and continued trying to win.
Consider the turmoil that he faced this season, and you gain a new level of appreciation for him. From the fake vaccination card scandal to the multiple injuries to key contributors and even Antonio Brown‘s in-game meltdown. The man who Brady stood up for and told Bruce Arians to bring down to Tampa Bay quit in the middle of the game. He took off his pads and jersey and did some light cardio before leaving through the tunnel, proclaiming himself a “Super Gremlin.”
That would be like if Davante Adams scored a touchdown, did a Lambeau Leap, and refused to get back down.
While Brady was dealing with these off-the-field issues, Rodgers became the off-the-field issue for his team. He crusaded against the “woke media” and those trying to “silence him” despite making weekly appearances on The Pat McAfee Show. Conversely, Brady stayed focused. He threw for 5,316 yards, a career-high, and 43 touchdowns.
Rodgers will likely win the MVP this season, but Brady still managed to put up MVP-level numbers in his 22nd season. Despite Brady saying that he will retire when he “sucks” seven years ago, it felt like we could have had at least a couple more years of him playing until he sucked by his standards. When things got tough, Brady didn’t fall back and blame the coach, front office, his teammates, or the media. When things got tough, he led by example.
With his retirement being final, it feels like Brady realized two things. He talked about wanting to be there for his family more, and his wife, Gisele Bundchen, has not kept it a secret that she believes he should have retired by now. He also realized that he would never want to walk away because he would always want to keep reaching new heights.
Perhaps this is his last great challenge. Having the courage to walk away and call it after this one last dance. He understood that football is an all-or-nothing commitment, and he didn’t want to have his team wait to make his decision.
