Tom Brady Announces Retirement
 

So many people don't get buy low sell high. I'll believe it after September.

I hear Brady is going “Hollywood”. He should have stayed “retired” last year.

Sniff…. I guess I’ll keep it not only as a memento but may be worth some $$$$ in the future…

I lost count. 2nd or 3rd?

"The Bucs were a snoozefest on offense, but Brady’s play wasn’t the culprit. He threw more passes than ever before (733), logged the fourth-highest completion percentage of his career (66.8) and the sixth-most passing yards (4,694)." (nfl dot com website).

Brady, even at 45 years old, is still Brady. There is no lack of NFL teams with quarterback problems where Brady could still shine, both as a starting QB and as a mentor to some young phenom still a year or two away from being an established NFL quarterback.

One drama ended, now we can focus on what to do with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay.

Countless words have been written about Brady and how great he is but I bet you could not find one sentence describing how helpful he was to a young QB.

Brady is about Brady. Nothing else.

The inarguable G.O.A.T. is finally headed out to pasture for good? While I think he really means it this time, I'll fully believe it when the gate is shut and locked behind him.

"Tom Brady is known for many things, but his ability stay relentlessly locked in, while mentoring young quarterbacks is often overlooked.

The 42-year-old quarterback has spent 20 seasons with the New England Patriots and has been at the helm for 18 of those years. Brady spent most of the 2001 season on the bench behind Drew Bledsoe and he missed 2008 with an ACL injury.

This has left no room for his backup quarterbacks to shine in New England, but many of them have went on to have successful careers. Guys like Matt Cassel and Brian Hoyer went on to have successful careers as journeymen — while Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett are doing pretty well in their roles as starting quarterbacks. There were players like Rohan Davey and Ryan Mallett, who didn’t find their way in the league.

But, as Brady’s wisdom increased as a quarterback and mentor, his peers’ ability to branch off and become successful increased as well. Brissett and Garoppolo are the best examples of this.

Brissett was thrown into the starting role with the Indianapolis Colts in 2019 after Andrew Luck announced his retirement at the very last minute. He threw for 2,942 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and six interceptions. This was with an injured T.Y. Hilton, who played in 10 games and only had 500 yards. Brissett had minimal time to prepare as the team’s starter, and he pulled away with a 7-8 record. His composure under pressure and ability to gain trust from his team is the reason that the Colts will be in good hands in 2020.

Garoppolo was a star in the making and he spent three seasons learning from Brady. He devoured information and was shaping up to be the Brady’s successor, but he found himself with the San Francisco 49ers before that could transpire. Now, Garoppolo and the 49ers are en route to the Super Bowl and he boasts a career record of 24-5.

After three years in the same locker room, Garoppolo spoke highly of Brady and his work ethic.

“That’s the impressive thing. After so many weeks in the season, guys start to get tired and pack it in. He just keeps grinding,” Garoppolo said. “To do it for such a long time — I’m telling you. It’s one of those things you feel like a robot doing it for 17 weeks straight. (His preparation) is impressive.”

He’s been like a big brother to me,” Garoppolo continued. “It’s very competitive. Arguments break out and stuff like that, but it’s just very competitive. It’s just great being around (Brady and Brissett).” (USA Today, Jan. 22, 2020)

It's a bird, it's a plane..
 

me 2⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹

Tom Brady went from obscurity to the greatest QB of all time. The records he has complied will survive for a long time. He was a competitor through and through. For me being a Pats fan the memories he gave us winning six super-bowls are immeasurable. Sorry to see him retire but nothing lasts forever. I wish him the best of luck and thank him for the memories.

Good post.

I was never a Patriots fan, but I WAS a Tom Brady fan. He definitely had all the physical skills, but in my opinion, far and away his strongest point was his ability to come up big in the clutch. Some players, even the highly-skilled ones, fade under pressure. But Brady stood out. He was the focus in clutch situations, performing at his best when the most was on the line.

Football isn’t everything. He’s a worm.

Can I now expect that this promises the end of the Brady threads?

Soon he will be saving seats at the Square! Many of the greats come here, trying to slide into obscurity…

Deja vu all over again
 

no !

$300 Million dollar contract in hand to be a Commentator for Football. He's done why get banged up anymore?

None of those QB's mentioned Brady "mentoring" them. It's all talk about how competitive Brady is and how hard he works.

Go back and watch the play in the Seattle superbowl when Malcolm Butler intercepted the pass at the goal line. There is a cutaway shot of Brady + Jimmy G. on the sidellines. They are both shocked at first, then they look at each other, then they turn away from each other and start jumping for joy. Awkward. No hugs from those teammates.

Over 20 years in New England I watched and read countless stories about Brady. That piece you found was the only one I saw that talked about Brady mentoring. Good job by whoever wrote it to find a new angle on Brady's greatness. Of course he couldn't come up with anyone actually thanking Brady for mentoring him though.

Perhaps there's a reason his alleged mentoring has been overlooked. Like because it doesn't exist.

Brady's favorite backup was Bryan Hoyer. An exceedingly average QB. Someone who could fill in if needed but was never a threat to replace Brady. Brady said many times that his goal was to take every rep. Both in games and in practice. He never wanted anyone to get the idea that someone else could do his job.

What a great attitude for a "mentor".

Actually, I just quoted the first article that popped up.

Maybe another "unretirement" in the future. Robert Kraft wants TB to sign with the Pats for one day.

Robert Kraft tells CNN he wants Tom Brady to sign a one-day contract and retire as a New England Patriot | CNN

Someone, please save him a place in the Unemployment Insurance line!

Odd. This is the first article that popped up for me:

3 times superstar NFL QBs refused to mentor their successors ft. Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers

The New England Patriots made the somewhat shocking move to use a second-round pick on Jimmy Garoppolo in 2014. The move looks even more bizarre in hindsight.

Yet, Bill Belichick made the call and as expected, Tom Brady did not suddenly assume a mentorship role. Reports stated that Brady was not of much help in terms of being a true mentor. Instead, Garoppolo had to pick his brain as a teammate, which is fair as well.

The relationship lasted through to the 2017 NFL season, when Garoppolo was traded to the San Francisco 49ers. Even if Brady was not a mentor, the relationship paid off as the 49ers handed Garoppolo a $137.5 million deal after limited action on the field.

When you sign a contract to play NFL football, that's what you are supposed to do PLAY football, not teach someone else to do your job. That's what coaches are for.

Look what happened to Donavan McNabb when the Eagles decided to bring Michael Vick on to the team - he eventually replaced McNabb. McNabb should have demanded to be traded.

Sounds like a quote from a winner, who's willing to take it all his own shoulders and get the job done.

Well stated.

I have to ask, which you are of course entitled not to answer, but given your stated 20 years in New England and what he did for the Patriots - why the obvious vitriol and dislike for the G.O.A.T.?

He retired last year with an instagram post. That post has 7 paragraphs thanking his Tampa teammates, the bucs staff, the bucs coaches, The bucs owners, the city of Tampa and the Tampa fans.

Here are a few words that didn't appear in his statement:

Patriots
New England
Kraft
Belichick
Patriot Teammates

Totally classless. There are still Brady simps here in New England but I'm not one of them.

All of the above were nothing but average before Tom Brady and so far, since Tom Brady.

Worm!

My favorite headline read “ Tom Brady to officially retire one year after he officially retired.”

Double Worm! Have a boatload of friends who love him.

If you choose football over your wife and kids you a a zero, not a hero!

Gotta wonder, though. Tom Brady is not paid to be a role model. Nor a cheerleader. Nor as some kind of shining model for youth. Nor as an example for a Miss Manners column.

He is/was paid to do one thing. And THAT was to play football. Which, almost certainly, he did better than anyone before him or probably anyone who comes after.

9/13/22: "And regardless of whether Brady, 45, finally retires from the sport for good, Bündchen told Elle she has “zero desire” to start runway modeling again." (Gisele Bundchen has 'zero desire' to return to the runway)

1/6/23: "On Friday, the French luxury brand shared a video of Bündchen, 42, on Instagram modeling the new bags to the tune of the Rolling Stones’ “She’s Like a Rainbow.”

In the clip, the mom of two poses topless with two of the carryalls clutched against her chest," (Gisele Bundchen goes topless in first modeling job since divorce from Tom Brady | The US Sun)

You don't have a clue why Tom Brady & his wife got divorced, nor a clue or any reason to think he choose football over his wife and kids. For all anyone knows, Gisele was sleeping with the pool boy.

Luckily, both Gisele and Tom are smart enough and have enough respect for each other, not to air their dirty laundry in public.

They're apparently confident enough people, that they don't care what the armchair quarterbacks and self-righteous internet posters think or say about their relationship.