After the hullabaloo of the past few days, Tom Brady himself is now providing clarity. The 44-year-old has announced the end of his NFL career

Munich – Tom Brady has ended his NFL career. The 44-year-old made the announcement in a statement on his Instagram channel.

“Writing these words is hard for me. I’ll try anyway: I will no longer face this competition,” the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback wrote in his statement. “I have loved my NFL career, but now it is time to devote my time and energy to other things. “

Thanks to the Buccaneers – Patriots unmentioned

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and facing tough questions over the past few weeks. I am so proud of what we have accomplished. My teammates, coaches, opponents and fans deserve 100 percent from me. But now it’s best that I leave the field to the next generation of dedicated athletes,” Brady continued.

Piquantly, Brady thanked his teammates, coaches, fans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers officials at length in his statement. His former team, the New England Patriots, or companion Bill Belichick, however, are not mentioned by name.

Bucs coach Arians: “It was an honour “

Bruce Arians, Brady’s last head coach with the Buccaneers, had this to say about Brady’s retirement. “Tom came to us as the greatest football player in history, and he quickly showed everyone in our organization what that means. He has set new standards here and created a culture that has taken our team to the top. It’s been an honor to have been his head coach the past two seasons. “

Rumours of resignation as early as Saturday

Already on Saturday, “ESPN” reported that Brady would end his NFL career. However, the Buccaneers and Tom Brady’s father contradicted that the quarterback had not yet made a decision about a possible career end.

Now, three days later, Brady himself put an end to the guesswork.

Tom Brady: A unique NFL career

Brady is the only player in NFL history to have won the Super Bowl seven times. Six of the titles came with the New England Patriots. After his move to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he also won the Super Bowl title there in 2021. In this year’s playoffs, Brady and the Buccaneers narrowly lost out to the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round despite a furious comeback.

Brady was drafted in the 2000 NFL Draft with the 199th pick in the sixth round by the New England Patriots, and together with head coach Bill Belichick, established a unique era in NFL history. In total, Brady became a five-time Super Bowl MVP and a 15-time Pro Bowler. In 22 NFL seasons, he totalled 84,520 passing yards and 624 passing touchdowns with only 203 interceptions.