Has Tom Brady reached the end of his road? The star quarterback has been in the NFL for 23 seasons and produced impressive numbers. With 7 Super Bowl wins, most passing yard, and most passing touchdowns, Brady’s millions of fans have given him the title of “Goat” in the football world.
Brady started his career in New England playing for the Patriots in 2000. For 21 years, Brady dominated—winning six Super Bowls, five Super Bowl MVP awards and three MVP awards during his time there. When his time in New England was up, Brady continued his career by playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he won Super Bowl LV and Super Bowl MVP.
Brady has been in the league for 23 seasons and battled through a lot. He went through a knee injury in 2007, leaving him sidelined for the season. He has been sacked more than any other quarterback in history. At 45 years old, some are beginning to ask the question, “When will he be done?”
In late January of 2022, Brady announced his retirement from the NFL. However, it took only 40 days for him to come back to the game and begin training for the 2023 season. “I wasn’t surprised, he [Brady] is a competitor and not having the game in his life showed him he needed to play,” said Trevor Moore, a Bills fan.
During the 2021-2022 season, Brady and the Buccaneers posted an impressive 13-4 regular season record before losing in the NFC divisional round to the Los Angeles Rams. Heading into the 2022-2023, the NFC is still wide open with little competition, allowing Brady to repeat that record and compete for another Super Bowl.
However, as Brady has progressed through the 2023 season, the team has proven to be disappointing. With a record of 3-5, Brady has had one of the worst starts to the season. This does not discourage Moore, who believes that Brady and the Buccaneers will be fine. “Brady has been missing one of his top wide receivers in every game so far. When they are healthy then I think we should judge him,” he said. As Brady and his receivers get more game reps, many believe they will continue improving and develop a solid connection.
Moore may be optimistic about the continued success of Brady, but for Packers fan Josh Cozad, he isn’t as sure. “I think Brady is a great player but I think he should have retired last year. You can only keep greatness alive for so long.”
With any sport, athletes have a point in their career where they reach a peak. For Brady, he has kept that peak alive for more years than thought possible for football players. Unfortunately, like all athletes, there is a falling point and that is the point Brady is at now.
Brady is simply getting to old for the sport. The new generation of quarterbacks have show more talent and more agility then Brady. There is no doubt Brady is an incredible athlete and what he has done will be nearly impossible to repeat but athletes can only do it for so long and Brady should retire and let the next generation take over.
To most football enthusiasts, Brady will still go down as the greatest football player in history, but his time may be running out. He still has time to turn things around for his team this year and make a playoff run. At 45 years old, it’s hard to imagine the legend continuing his reign leaving many to question, “when will Brady’s NFL career end?”
Matthew Murphy • Nov 4, 2022 at 6:23 pm
Greta article Daniel!! This really brought attention to me as a football fan just how much Tom Brady has been involved with the world of sports. I like the point of view especially made by an opposing fan Josh Cozad and how you incorporated his comment to overall make the message that he is always known and respected for what he has done by all fans and every enjoyer of football.