What The Hell Happened: Tom Brady Ends NFL Career After 23 Years

After only his third season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, football star Tom Brady decided to officially retire in early 2023. Brady is possibly the most controversial modern-day figure in the football world, and his retirement has certainly attracted a lot of attention — both negative and positive.

Brady’s retirement comes after a solid 23 year long run during which he spent the first 20 years of his career playing with the New England Patriots and the last three with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He definitely has an impressive record, retiring with seven Super Bowl wins under his belt — both the most wins of any NFL player in the league’s history and more wins than any single team. Brady’s regular season record compared to other teams in the league is also impressive: He individually won more games than all of them except for the 2023 Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs.

It is impossible to overlook the fact that this final retirement announcement follows Brady’s divorce from his wife of thirteen years, Gisele Bündchen. In fact, this is not the first time Brady announced that he would be allegedly “retiring.” On Feb. 1, 2022, Brady officially announced that he would be retiring to focus more on his family life. However, just six weeks later, Brady backpedaled on his decision and reentered the world of professional football, claiming he had “unfinished business.” Considering that this transition back to the NFL meant that Brady would be shifting his focus back towards his career rather than his family, Brady’s return could not have been good for his relationship with Bündchen OR his marriage.

Brady's return to the NFL for the 2022-23 season following his initial retirement marked him as the oldest active player in the league. Despite his age, he still performed relatively well; however, Brady openly admitted that the struggles he experienced with his marriage at this time were directly affecting his performance on the field. Shortly after his return to the league, the couple officially announced that they would be splitting, causing much of the internet to speculate that Brady officially chose football over his family. This could only make the fact that he lost his playoff game — now the last game of his career — against the Dallas Cowboys, with a score of 31-14, all the more bitter.

This retirement has also already led to several absurd trends, including the purchase of Brady’s retirement sand — as in the sand from the beach where the NFL star announced his retirement. Brady’s retirement sand was bottled up and listed for $100,000 on eBay, reflecting the public’s obsession with Brady and his concluding NFL career. Although uncertain if this retirement will truly be his last, it is safe to say that many eyes will be on the next steps that Brady takes in both his public and personal life.

—Staff writer Xander Patton can be reached at xander.patton@thecrimson.com.