On Feb. 1, Tom Brady, one of sport’s most decorated athletes, retired from the NFL at age 45.

After an infamously poor combine performance, Brady was drafted to the New England Patriots in 2000 as the 199th pick. On the bench for the entirety of his rookie season as the Patriots’ 4th-string QB, no one could have foreseen the heights to which Brady would soar.

In Brady’s sophomore season, star QB Drew Bledsoe suffered an injury in the Patriot’s second game of the season, and Brady would get his time to shine. Brady first struck gold in 2002 when he won Super Bowl XXXVI against the St. Louis Rams. That would not be his last. 

Working alongside renowned coach Bill Belichick, Brady would go on to win five more Super Bowls for the Patriots (2004, 2005, 2015, 2017, 2019), earning tens of thousands of passing yards and hundreds of touchdowns along the way.

In the offseason of 2020, Brady announced that he was turning the next page in his career and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after a historic 20 seasons with the Patriots. Many were skeptical of how the 43-year-old would fare in a new environment without Belichick by his side. 

That season, Brady would silence his critics, winning his seventh Super Bowl and fifth Super Bowl MVP. Though the following season would not culminate in another Super Bowl, Brady would cement his legacy further by earning the most passing yards of all time.

Brady announced his retirement on Feb. 1, 2022. However, his hunger for the sport would get the best of him and he called off his retirement and returned only 40 days later. 

Unfortunately, Brady’s final season was a relative fall-off and he would see an elimination in the 2023 Wild Card round of the playoffs. Regardless, Brady’s legacy remains wholly intact.

As a 15x Pro-Bowler, 5x AFC Offensive Player of the Year, 2x NFL Offensive Player of the Year, 3x NFL MVP, 5x Super Bowl MVP, and 7x Super Bowl winner, Brady’s name has become synonymous with excellence. 

Whether a fan or critic, it is undeniable that the NFL has lost a long-withstanding juggernaut. Farewell Tom Brady.