NFL players react to Tom Brady retirement news

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The sports world caught on fire Saturday with the announcement that Tom Brady would retire after 22 seasons in the league. 

A three-day episode ensued where the Hall of Fame quarterback was reported to be wavering on the retirement decision. Finally, Tuesday morning Tom Brady made it official and hung up the cleats for good.

"This is difficult for me to write, but here it goes: I am not going to make the 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," said Brady in an Instagram post Tuesday morning. 

The NFL world was quick to offer their congratulations, wishing Brady luck in retirement.

And several Bucs’ teammates expressed gratitude for the opportunity to play with Brady. 

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While others around the league jokingly expressed gratitude for the fact that the NFL will no longer be dominated by Brady.

Former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III wasted no time calling Hall of Fame voters to get Brady his gold jacket. 

Cardinals’ defensive end J.J. Watt made it clear Brady was a once-in-a-lifetime talent.

Meanwhile, analyst and former player Brady Quinn doubled down on how special of a player Brady was, and then invited Twitter to prove him wrong down the road.

Almost immediately, twitter started speculating about another potential retirement -- Rob Gronkowski. 

Gronk, who is 12 years Brady’s junior, has spent all eleven years with the same quarterback. A month after Brady announced his departure for Tampa Bay, the Bucs made a trade for Gronk, reportedly at the insistence of Brady.  

The tight end retired once before, taking the season off before joining the Bucs, citing a need to focus on his mental health. 

Analyst Adam Schefter tweeted a congratulatory note from former NFL legend Peyton Manning to his friend Brady.

General manager of the Denver Broncos and former quarterback John Elway also tweeted in support of Brady. "When I think about Tom Brady, he's a true winner who handled himself with class throughout his entire career," Elway said in a tweet Tuesday morning.

Perhaps, from one great quarterback to another, a single emoji summed up Brady’s career and impact best.

https://twitter.com/PatrickMahomes/status/148750947277172
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