By Brendan O’Brien
(Reuters) -National Football League quarterback Tom Brady, who won seven Super Bowls and is widely considered the greatest quarterback in league history, said on Wednesday that he was retiring, a year after he made the same announcement only to change his mind weeks later.
“I am retiring for good,” Brady said in a 53-second video message that he posted on Twitter. “Thank you guys for allowing me to live my absolute dream.”
The 45-year-old Brady spent 20 seasons with the New England Patriots before relocating to Florida and leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl championship in 2021.
He retired after last season but reversed course 40 days later and returned to the Buccaneers, leading them to the playoffs again in the current season before the team was eliminated by the Dallas Cowboys last week.
In October, halfway through the season, Brady announced that he and his wife, supermodel Gisele Bundchen, had ended their 13-year marriage. They have two children together.
The northern California native is widely regarded as the best quarterback in league history. He appeared in a record 10 Super Bowls, winning the game seven times. He also won the Super Bowl MVP award five times and his 15 Pro Bowl selections are the most in league history. He was named the league’s most valuable player three times.
A lightly regarded prospect coming out of the University of Michigan, Brady was the 199th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft. But he made the most of his opportunities and quickly turned around the fortunes of the Patriots franchise. He would go on to build one of the greatest dynasties across any sport.
(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien and Katharine Jackson; Editing by Josie Kao)
