Tom Brady retires from NFL: Everything to know about his iconic career
By Josh Hill
Tom Brady has officially called it a career, for real this time. After the debacle last year where the future Hall of Fame quarterback retired only to then unretired and return for one more season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it seems like things are official this time.
Brady posted a video of himself on a beach in Florida announcing that he was hanging it up and walking away from football.
“I’ll get straight to the point, I’m retiring. For good,” Brady said. “I know the process was a big deal last time, so when I woke up this morning I figured I’d just press record and let you guys know first.”
With his career finally over, Brady enters retirement as one of the most decorated players in NFL history and as perhaps the greatest quarterback to ever play the game.
Tom Brady Super Bowl wins
Here are the Super Bowls that Tom Brady won during his career:
- Super Bowl XXXVI – 2002 vs. Rams
- Super Bowl XXXVIII – 2004 vs. Panthers
- Super Bowl XXXIX – 2005 vs. Eagles
- Super Bowl XLIX – 2014 vs. Seahawks
- Super Bowl LI – 2016 vs. Falcons
- Super Bowl LIII – 2018 vs. Rams
- Super Bowl LV – 2020 vs. Chiefs
It’s hard to pick which one stands out above the rest in terms of being the most iconic. They all sort of blend together — which is what happens when someone wins so many — but the Super Bowl wins over Rams (the first time), the Seahawks, and the Falcons all jump to mind as truly special Super Bowls that will be remembered in NFL history.
How many times has Tom Brady been to the Super Bowl?
Tom Brady might have seven Super Bowl rings, but he’s played in more than just those games. In total Brady played in 10 Super Bowls throughout his career, with those games being best remembered by fans as moments where Brady was humbled in his moment of triumph.
The most infamous of Super Bowl losses came during the 2007 season. A historically dominant Patriots team — both in terms of his offense and the fact that the team went 16-0 in the regular season — was bested by the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLIII. Not only did it prevent Brady and the Patriots from posting an undefeated season, but it also stopped the team from winning back-to-back Super Bowls.
Here are the Super Bowls that Tom Brady lost in his career:
- Super Bowl XLIII – 2007 vs. Giants
- Super Bowl XLVI – 2011 vs. Giants
- Super Bowl LII – 2017 vs. Eagles
Twice Brady lost to Eli Manning and the Giants in the Super Bowl, and all three of his losses came against NFC East teams. For what it’s worth, the final game of his career was a playoff loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
How many MVPs does Tom Brady have?
Tom Brady won NFL MVP three times in his career.
He’s also been named a Super Bowl MVP five times in his career. The first came after the Patriots victory in Super Bowl XXXVI, which was the first of their storied dynasty. He was also Super Bowl MVP after the Buccaneers defeated the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, which is notable considering those games happened two decades apart yet Brady was still the most important player in each game regardless of age.
How many touchdowns does Tom Brady have in his career?
Like the Home Run record in baseball, one of the most popular records in football is career touchdowns. While Barry Bonds and Hank Aaron seem to have an untouchable amount of home runs, Brady’s record might rank somewhere up there as well.
Tom Brady passed for 649 touchdowns in his career, which is almost 100 more than Drew Brees in second-place.
- Tom Brady – 649 TDs
- Drew Brees – 571 TDs
- Peyton Manning – 539 TDs
- Brett Favre – 508 TDs
- Aaron Rodgers – 475 TDs
Given how much the passing game has evolved in recent years, it’s not hard to imagine a world where Patrick Mahomes catches Brady’s record. Right now Mahomes has 192 career touchdowns, which means he’d need to average 30 touchdowns per year for the next 15 seasons to break Brady’s record.
Brady owned the single-season touchdown record for a short time, having broken it in 2007 by throwing 50 touchdowns but lost it to Peyton Manning in 2013. Patrick Mahomes came close to breaking it a few years ago, but Manning’s record still stands at 55 passing touchdowns in a single season.
Tom Brady net worth
While Brady retired from the NFL as one of the league’s most decorated players, he didn’t walk away from the game as one of its richest. Brady prided himself on putting the team before himself, and for that reason he often took team-friendly deals so that the Patriots weren’t strapped for cash and could bring in key players to build out Super Bowl-winning rosters.
According to CelebrityNetWorth.com, Tom Brady’s net worth in 2023 was around $250 million, which almost exclusively comes from his playing career. Brady has started growing interests outside of the game, with his clothing brand starting to add to that net worth as well as investments he’s made in other areas.
He took a bit of a hit when the crypto market crashed this year, as Brady was a big investor in FTX.
Brady also has a $375 million deal with FOX Sports to become its lead color analyst for NFL broadcasts. So while he never cashed in during his career, Brady still managed to make out alright and have plenty of ways to keep earning after his NFL playing days are over.