Nfl, Tom Brady retires: at 44 he quits the greatest ever

Tom Brady retires. At 44, he leaves the best player in NFL football history. Perhaps the greatest ever in that of American team sports. If he plays it, Michael Jordan in basketball, Babe Ruth in baseball. He leaves after the defeat suffered by his Tampa Bay Bucs, the defending champions, in the second round of the playoffs, against the Los Angeles Rams. He had recovered from below 3-27 until 27 all, 42 ”from the end. Yet another feat of an incredible career. But this time the defense betrayed him, giving in with a crash, preventing him from continuing the tug-of-war in extra time.

MINIMALIST

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Brady greets without celebration. Without farewell tours on the various fields. The news came from ESPN, even before an official announcement (and he must not have liked it, so much so that the Bucs GM Jason Licht would have said that he has not yet made a final decision). The style of the Californian quarterback has always been this: little talk, he always made the pitch talk. Team results ahead of personal feats. In Tampa he greeted the fans in a suspicious way last Sunday, after the game. But it was thought he would still take some time, before considering whether to return to Florida again next season. He has a signed contract that would allow it. And the extraordinary performance that would allow him: he will probably close the season second in the MVP vote, behind Rodgers. Incredible, at that age.

He was selected for the Pro Bowl, the game of the stars. But this time he says stop for real. Give priority to family and health. He took a lot of blows. He never backed down. The photograph of his last match is he who “barks” in the face of the head referee, bleeding from his lip, who gets a penalty for protests and immediately afterwards proudly completes a long pass. There is the essence of Brady in that sequence. A mental toughness unique in the history of American sport.

ALL RECORDS

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Brady has won 7 Super Bowl. Most of all. More than each of the 32 NFL franchises. He has even played 10. He has won 6 times with the New England Patriots, once with Tampa. He was MVP of the match 5 times, MVP of the season 3 times. Called 15 times to the Pro Bowl. Closes first every epoch for passing yards (84,250), first for number of touchdowns (624), first for overall victories. To give an idea of ​​the abyss that exists between him and the competition in the history of the game: he won 35 games in the playoffs, the second quarterback behind him, Joe Montana, won 16.

AMERICAN HISTORY

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Brady has beaten all opponents, even his “enemy” New England, every franchise faced. But above all, it beat the odds calculus. Just picked with the 199 call on the sixth round of the 2000 Draft. Behind 6 quarterbacks. Eternal underrated. First in Michigan, in college, where he only became a starter the last two seasons, winning a lot, but after a lot of benching. Then in the NFL. Where in the first year he made the reserve to Drew Bledsoe. Then an injury to the owner gave him the wheel of the Patriots. She never left him. A “normal” athlete, tall, thin, very slow even as a boy, especially at the end of his career, he has always made a difference with his mind. Then even that with the arm. Knowledge of the encyclopedic game, cold blood with the game in the balance, extraordinary readings, charisma. His comrades in Boston and Tampa always believed in him. There was no game lost with Brady, until the end. His comebacks have gone down in history, that of the Super Bowl from under 25 points in 2017 against Atlanta, is part of the legend of the sport. Maniacal in preparation, in nutrition, in the study of teammates and opponents, he is a myth in Boston, where his career has been closely linked to that of Coach Belichick. There are many great receivers that he has enhanced or made great. Moss, Edelman, Welker, the tight end Gronkowski, who also won with him in Tampa, the “historic” ones. Brady will enjoy his wife, Brazilian model Gisele, and giveaways from the world of sports, not just football. The largest leaves without making a sound. For that his deeds are enough and advance.