Brady Leaves Lasting Legacy And Massive Hole In Tampa Bay

Tom Brady has retired ... again.

The Patriots and Buccaneers legend announced his retirement on social media Wednesday morning, stepping away from the NFL after 23 seasons and the greatest career the league has ever seen.

What’s the impact of Brady’s retirement? And how does Tom’s career look now that it’s over? Let’s break it down:

Is The Retirement For Real This Time?

Last time Brady tricked us with his two-month retirement. But this time, it seems real. The implied odds of Brady’s -2000 line to stay retired suggest a 95.25 percent chance we’ve seen the last of TB12 — at least on the field.

Where Do The Buccaneers Go Next?

Last year, the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl odds skyrocketed when Brady un-retired. This year, the gunslinger’s second retirement seems to have put the Bucs in a tough spot.

Bookmakers seem to believe that Brady is staying retired this time — or at least not coming back to the Bucs — because Tampa’s chances of winning a title next season have dropped (and may still be dropping), sitting down there with some other NFL long shots.

What’s Brady’s NFL Legacy?

Tom Brady is the GOAT. It’s that simple. Sure, there are Deflategate and Spygate controversies that give the haters a leg to stand on. But, even accepting those, Brady’s career was better than any NFL player’s before his. He’s at or near the top of basically every relevant metric you can find. He may not have been the most talented player by raw ability, but he will retire the greatest to ever do it.

TB12 Final Career Statistics

Top Moments Of Brady’s Career:

1. The Comeback

Brady and the Patriots found themselves down 28-3 in the third quarter of Super Bowl 51 back in 2017. Many people changed the channel, left their Super Bowl parties early and gave up on Tom. They were mistaken.

Brady and the Pats scored 25 unanswered points in regulation, storming back to force overtime, and walked it off in OT to secure the greatest comeback in NFL history — maybe in sports history. 

If you say the phrase “28 to 3” to any sports fan, they know what you’re talking about. The win was just one of Brady’s seven Super Bowl titles, but it is the defining moment of his career. Don’t doubt him. Don’t bet against him. He always found a way.

2. The Ring Without Bill

There were always people who said Brady was a “system quarterback” and a product of Bill Belichick’s brilliant coaching. It sure seems Belichick thought that, given how the pair ultimately broke up.

During the 2020-21 NFL season, Brady proved that theory incorrect. Tom led his new team, the Buccaneers, to an 11-5 record, and beat the Commanders, Saints, Packers and Chiefs on his way to a seventh Super Bowl win. 

After Brady left New England, the Patriots went 25-25 while Tom’s Bucs went 32-18, made the playoffs three times and won a ring.

3. The Tuck Rule

Tom Brady’s entire career was surrounded by controversy. So it’s only fitting the road to his first Super Bowl win started it.

Before winning Super Bowl 36 in 2001, Brady had to get through the Raiders and Jets in the playoffs. On his way to a first ring, Brady matched up against Oakland during a snow-filled January game in Foxborough that would kick off two decades of TB12 victories and change NFL rules forever.

Late in the final quarter, Brady took a sack and appeared to fumble the ball, which would’ve sealed the victory for the Raiders. But, upon review, it was determined that, though Brady was attempting to “tuck” the ball into his body, it was an incompletion and not a fumble. The Patriots, as became tradition for the next 20 years, took advantage, stormed back, won the game and won the ring a few weeks later.

Was it a fumble? Would Brady’s entire career have gone differently if the refs made a different call that night? We’ll let you decide that:

On This Date: In 2002, it looked like Tom Brady fumbled it ... but the Tuck Rule changed everything. pic.twitter.com/lhUgB4qKzM

— ESPN (@espn) January 19, 2019