By Oli Strzelczyk of Europe’s Elite
Longest career in history? That honour goes to Morten Anderson, seven-time Pro Bowl kicker who played for 26 seasons. Most successful career in history? Tom, TB12, Brady. The average NFL player career lasts 3.3 years, but quarterbacks make that stretch to 4.44. It doesn’t take too much thinking to therefore acknowledge that a twenty two year career is something special. Let’s revisit how it went down.
Coming out of Michigan, Brady presented not much more than the eagerness to play football in the most recognised league worldwide. At 6’4, 225lbs he resembled the physical attributes to be a mouldable player, but not necessarily one that could immediately step up and fight for starting roles the way General Managers may have wanted. Scouts went as far as saying that he was of a “Poor build, skinny, lacks great physical stature and strength, and gets knocked down easily.” This went on to drop his draft stock to the point that he was at risk of remaining standing just like that one kid in PE class who no one selects for dodgeball.
Due to not being regarded as a top recruit, he was not invited to attend the draft live and thus stayed home with his family for the event. He recalls the days going by, until the 6th round came around during which he lost complete faith in the possibility of his childhood dream coming true. Going through a complete breakdown, he took on a walk through the neighbourhood that served to clear his mind and accept his fate, which ironically enough changed the moment he walked through the door of his home.
Upon returning, a buzz rattled the now-melancholic room. All six eyes turned towards the phone dancing on the table, which was immediately seized by the recruit and flipped to reveal an incoming call… from New England. At this point the TV had been turned off to remove the driving force of the heartache but having turned it back on, they realised that it was about to become their greatest joy. Bill Belichick was in the process of making his 199th pick and was on the phone with the twenty-three-year-old in the room. Not long after, Tom Brady Jr found himself up north training to become the greatest NFL player of all time.
In the summer of 2000, Patriots coaches were still questioning their decision over the new Quarter-back. He wasn’t phenomenal and resembled exactly what the scouts had reported. What was said in a conversation between several coaches can be compared to laughing about buying a cheap, fake phone and expecting it to be the latest iPhone with all the new features and dozens of cameras. Tom overheard this, and imperatively stated that he was going to prove them wrong.
How does one go from throwing for 6 yards in a season to throwing for 2800? Ask the 15-time Pro Bowler. In his first season, the kid from Michigan only made three pass attempts of which he completed 1, but this drastically changed the very next season. On October 8th, 2001, he made his first NFL start filling in for injured Drew Bledsoe. There, he led Michael Fleger to conclude that he “was unfazed by the pressure, had a good feel on third down but was unable to lead the team”. Despite the supposed lack of leadership qualities, Tom competed for the starting spot that was going to be open for a minimum of six weeks. Capitalizing on the opportunity, he made it his own for the rest of the season, throwing for 2843 yards and achieving a completion percentage of 63.92%… as well as earning the privilege of lifting the Lombardi Trophy after defeating the St Louis Rams.
The legacy was under construction, with the Patriots winning back-to-back Superbowl’s in 2003 and 2004. During this time, Brady threw for 3620 and 4110 yards, both jewels that he had to enjoy alongside his rings that where about to fall short. Between 2005 and 2013, New England suffered from an inability to match their previous performances. In the season opener ’08, the star QB suffered a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament against the chiefs, removing him from active duties for the rest of the season.
In 2015, however, the Patriots Dynasty re-entered the room of champions with a 28-24 win over reigning champions Seattle Seahawks and their Legion of Boom. In case you forgot how great this defence was, let us remind you that they had Bobby Wagner, Bruce Irvin, Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas on the field at the same time, marking them as a ‘cheat code’ that supposedly could not be beat.
Over the next five seasons, TB12 accumulated 53,313 yards, marking him out as the best player any HC and GM could wish for… with Bill Belichick being an exception. Amidst the COVID pandemic, the world’s football fanbase was shaken head to toe after New England announced it was parting ways with its star. In a later press conference, we were notified that this was a tactical decision, with the coaching staff choosing to release players at the end of their prime instead of suffering the consequences of them dropping in performance while on the team. But, as we were about to find out, Tom was far from the end of his prime.
Critics often argue that Brady was always surrounded by incredible players and thus had little own input in delivering the championships that he won. However, being surrounded by a great team is one thing, and retaining high calibre, championship winning performance over the age of 40 is another, as seen in Tom’s Superbowl win in 2020 at home in Tampa Bay, Florida.
Despite the 2021 season presenting one of the greatest playoff weekends in recent memory, Bucs fans suffered from a tough loss to the Rams, coming short by a field-goal despite trailing by 17 points at the half. The comeback resembled Brady’s previous second-half reincarnations, most notably the win against Atlanta in Superbowl LI after coming back from a 28-3 deficit. What we didn’t know at the time, however, was that Brady’s awesome pass to Mike Evans for the TD was going to be the last Touchdown.
Following the game, Tom announced that his potential retirement was going to be a “day to day decision”. But today, on the 29th January 2022, Adam Schefter, a trusted NFL insider, took to Twitter to confirm that this day has come, announcing the departing of the greatest football player of all time.
For one last time, let’s look at this career in numbers:
As of an hour before the official information, Bruce Arians has reported not to have heard from his QB, and thus he is still listed on the Buccaneers’ depth chart. Don Lee, agent of Tom Brady, has said that “Tom will be the only person to express his plans with complete accuracy”, and Brady’s dad has also spoken out saying that this retirement is currently uncertain. But given the NFL’s statements and reactions, it appears that we are at dusk of the greatest career of all time. The career of a kid who thought he wasn’t going to get drafted. The career of a kid whose own coaches doubted him in training camp. The career of a kid, who barely made the 53-man roster in his first season. The career of a kid, who believed he could be the greatest player of all time. And that’s exactly what he achieved.