Tom Brady Officially Announced His Retirement (And Didn’t Mention The Patriots Once)

Late last week, word broke that Tom Brady was reportedly retiring after 22 seasons in the NFL. His accolades speak for themselves, as a 7-time Super Bowl champion, 5-time Super Bowl MVP, and 3-time NFL MVP, who has the most career passing yards and passing touchdowns of any quarterback in league history.

However, for much of the weekend, there was pushback on the report that he was retiring, as it was clear that Brady wanted to be the one to make the announcement and tie a bow on his career. That happened, officially, on Tuesday norming, as he released a lengthy statement on Twitter that offered thanks to an awful lot of people in his circle and in Tampa where he spent the final two seasons of his career, but rather curiously made no mention of the Patriots where he spent the first 20.

Brady was not happy with how things ended in New England, but it is fairly incredible that in an eight-tweet announcement there isn’t a solitary mention of the Pats, the fans of Boston or the New England area, or anything like it. Then again, finding fuel in any perceived slight and holding onto it as long as possible is part of what made Brady who he was as a competitor and, even as he goes into retirement, that part of him hasn’t been turned off completely.