Tom Brady — the greatest American football player of all-time — might be calling it quits after his 31-14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night. The Michigan football legend has played 23 seasons in the National Football League following his five years at the University of Michigan.
Tom Brady establishes himself as a legend in Ann Arbor
Before adding seven Super Bowl rings to his collection, Tom Brady added some college hardware to his trophy case. During Brady’s five years with Michigan football, he was a part of some incredible U-M seasons: the 1997 National Championship team, the 1998 Big Ten Championship team, and the 1999 Orange Bowl Championship team
Brady’s first bit of starting experience came in 1998; the season after the Wolverines finished a perfect 12-0 with a win over Washington State in the Rose Bowl, and ultimately an AP National Title. As a first year starter (and 4th year senior at Michigan) Tom Brady led the Wolverines to a 10-3 record and a win in the Citrus Bowl. Michigan football finished No. 12 in both polls, and its 7-1 record was good enough to add a Big Ten Championship to the mix as well.
The year after, Michigan football again finished with 10 wins, though fell short of a 3rd-straight conference title. Still, the Wolverines managed to end the year 10-2 overall after a thrilling 35-34 win over No. 5 Alabama in the Orange Bowl.
Brady ended his career 2-0 in bowl games with a 20-5 overall record as a starter, a 13-3 Big Ten record, a conference championship, and a New Year’s Six ring. Tom Brady-led teams finished no lower than No. 12 and no higher than No. 5 in the polls all said and done.
Brady becomes the “GOAT”
Throughout Brady’s time in the NFL, he went from 6th round NFL Draft pick to football legend. When the Patriots needed their backup to come in and save the season, Tom Brady was ready for his moment; the rest is history.
After 23 years in the NFL, Tom Brady has been to 10 Super Bowls (NFL record), won seven Super Bowls (NFL record), and five Super Bowl MVPs (NFL record). Additionally, Brady has 35 playoff wins, which is more than every NFL franchise’s total payoff win count aside from the Dallas Cowboys, who have 36 after last night’s win.
Tom Brady holds the following NFL records (and more):
- QB wins (251)
- Career com0lpetions (7,753)
- Career passing touchdowns (649)
- Career passing yards (89,214)
- Longest touchdown pass (99 yards)
Tom Brady’s full list of career accomplishments in the NFL is far too long to list; however, it can be found on his Wikipedia page. At this stage in his career, Brady has established himself as the undisputed greatest player of all time; perhaps even the greatest American team sport athlete of all time.
Brady could be calling it quits
After winning six Super Bowls in New England, Tom Brady decided he wanted to win somewhere else, and made the move to one of the NFL’s most embarrassing franchises: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In year one in Tampa Bay, Brady snapped the Bucs’ longest-active playoff drought and defeated three NFL legends en route to his seventh Super Bowl win.
Brady’s 2020-21 Super Bowl run was one that will live in infamy — Brady retired Drew Brees in New Orleans, took down Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, and finally, bested Patrick Mahomes in the NFL’s first-ever home Super Bowl event. It was the season that established Brady as the undisputed GOAT, and one that will be remembered by football fans forever.
Over the past two years, Brady has added two more division titles to his collection, though he has fallen short of another Lombardi Trophy in both seasons. Now, after Brady and the Bucs lost to Dallas last night, it could be time to say farewell to Brady’s NFL career. Going on 46, we are not sure that Tom Brady has anything left in the tank.
After last night’s loss, Brady had this to say:
“I love this organization. It’s a great place to be. Thank you everybody for welcoming me. Just very grateful for the respect and I hope I gave it back to you guys.” Brady Said.
Additionally, Brady tipped his cap to the fans as if he was saying farewell as he left the field. If this is it for Brady, we tip our caps right back and thank Brady for nearly 2.5 decades of great football, and even more so, for changing this beautiful game forever.
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