Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to the Hall of Fame Class of 2028, led by the greatest football player of all time, quarterback Tom Brady.
It was exactly one year ago today that Brady announced his first retirement from the N.F.L. It is no coincidence that one year later, he would announce his retirement from the N.F.L. for the second time in a brief 51-second video from Miami.
With the news of Brady’s second retirement today, football fans were already looking ahead to 2028, when he will get a gold jacket and enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Outside of Michael Jordan, no athlete has had the competitive drive, the will to win, and the ability to put the team on his back and carry the team to victory as Tom Brady did so often in his career.
Not only does Brady hold the title of G.O.A.T., but he also holds Numerous N.F.L. passing records, which will stand for all time.
Brady Set Records That Will never Be Broken
Brady, 45, played 23 seasons in the N.F.L. and retired as the league’s all-time leader in passing yards with 89,214. He also holds the record for most touchdown passes with 649, has played in ten Super Bowls, and won seven championships.
Counting the postseason, he won 286 games in his distinguished career while throwing for 102,614 yards and 737 touchdowns.
He also owns the record for most comebacks in his career with 58, and 14 come from behind wins in the playoffs.
In just three years, Brady set numerous Buccaneer passing records. In 2021, he set new Buccaneer single-season records for passing yards with 5,316 and touchdowns with 43.
He finishes second in Buccaneer history in touchdown passes with 108, trailing Jameis Winston, who holds the record with 121.
He is also third in all-time passing yardage with 14,820 trailing Winston and Vinny Testaverde.
Brady Is The Greatest Quarterback To Wear A Buccaneer Uniform
Brady came to the Buccaneers as a free agent in 2020 after 20 years in New England. In his first season in Tampa, with no off-season workouts, and a limited training camp with no preseason games, Brady led the Buccaneers to their second Super Bowl.
He closes his Buccaneer career with a 32-17 record and will go down as one of the greatest Buccaneer players of all time. He will take his rightful place in the Buc’s ring of honor, which should happen next season.
Although the Buccaneers finished 8-9, the only losing season on Brady’s resume, this does nothing to tarnish his legacy. Despite the losing record, the Buccaneers won the N.F.C. South for the second consecutive season, a first in franchise history.
As the season wore on, you could see something was off for Brady. The accuracy on the long ball was missing. At times he seemed almost afraid of taking a hit to ensure the play produced positive yardage.
Is Brady The Greatest Athlete Of All Time?
All great athletes tend to stay too long. In his last season with the Wizards, Michael Jordan was just a shell of the player he was with the Bulls.
Wayne Gretzky’s final seasons with the Blues, and the New York Rangers, showed him to be just an ordinary hockey player that had won those four Stanley Cups and set all those records in Edmonton.
Father time is undefeated. There is no shame in bowing out. As we go through life, we all lose a bit of our fastball.
He changed the culture in the organization from a losing culture to a culture of accountability. That led to a winning culture and an expectation to win instead of expecting to lose.
He made football in Tampa fun and relevant again, and for that, we owe Tom Brady our thanks.
The price to win the Super Bowl was high, and now the bill is coming due. With Brady officially retired, he will count 25 million this season against the cap. Unfortunately, the Buccaneers are already over the salary cap by 43 million, so some tough roster decisions will need to be made in the coming days.
Thank you, Tom, for the memories. We will cherish them for a lifetime. It is a privilege to say that I watched the G.O.A.T. play football in Tampa for three seasons.
There will never be another one like Tom Brady.
