It's official: Tom Brady announces NFL retirement with IG statement

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Tom Brady is retiring from the NFL. Source: Tom Brady.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback officially announced his NFL retirement Tuesday morning, sharing a lengthy statement on his Instagram and Twitter accounts. (Click on Brady's tweet to read his full statement in a Twitter thread.)

"This is difficult to write, but here goes: I am not going to make that competitive commitment anymore," Brady wrote in part. "I have loved my NFL career, and now it is time to focus my time and energy on other things that require my attention."

Brady's lengthy statement oddly made no mention of the New England Patriots, his NFL home for 20 seasons and six Super Bowl titles. The 44-year-old thanked several members of the Bucs organization in addition to his personal trainer/business partner Alex Guerrero, his agents, Don Yee and Steve Dubin, and his family, but not Patriots owner Robert Kraft, head coach Bill Belichick or any member of the New England organization.

Brady paid tribute to the Patriots when he left the team back in March 2020, so perhaps he thought that statement served its purpose.

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Brady's announcement ends any speculation he'll return for a 23rd NFL season. ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington reported Saturday that the 44-year-old QB plans to retire, but Brady and his camp pushed back against those reports, with the QB reportedly telling the Buccaneers he's nowhere near a decision about his future.

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Brady also suggested Monday night on the "Let's Go" podcast with Jim Gray he'd take some time to make a decision, but it appears he need less than 12 hours to end his career on his own terms.

And what a career it was: Brady holds a host of NFL records, retiring as the greatest quarterback (and arguably the greatest player) in NFL history. While Brady had stated he wanted to play until age 45, the QB has decided to call it quits to spend more time with his family and focus on his business ventures, which includes TB12 Sports, the recently-launched Brady Brand, 199 Productions and more.

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