After more than two decades in the NFL, seven Super Bowls, and an incomparable impact on the game of professional football, the end of the road appears near for Tom Brady. On Saturday, it was reported that Brady would retire from football after 22 seasons, 20 of which came with the New England Patriots and two of which came with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady has not yet confirmed the reports, nor have the Buccaneers.
A sixth-round pick in the 2000 NFL Draft who’s career reached the pinnacle of sports, Brady’s retirement was felt through all corners of of the sports world. From his contemporaries who tried to stack up against him in the 2000s and 2010s, to those who went from growing up watching him to playing on the same field as him, almost no professional sports figure was unaffected by Brady’s career nor the mystique of his greatness.
In a testament to an outstanding career and Brady’s anticipated retirement, players and figures from around the National Football League and greater sports industry at large chimed in to salute the NFL legend.
