The speculation surrounding Tom Brady's future in the NFL finally ended on Tuesday, as the 44-year-old quarterback officially announced his retirement, via social media. In a lengthy statement shared to his Instagram, Brady said that he's no longer "going to make that competitive commitment anymore."
There's no disputing that the seven-time Super Bowl champion is stepping away at the top of his game. This season, Brady led the NFL in touchdowns (43) and passing yards (5,316), and also helped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers advance to the NFC divisional round as defending champions. But their trip ended three wins shy of a second consecutive title, and former NFL tackle Ephraim Salaam wonders if Brady's exit isn't sitting too well with him.
"Tom Brady is a lifer. He's a football lifer. Anybody who plays 22 years, has that much success, and retires not the way they wanted to," Salaam told the Reiter Than You show on Tuesday. "Tom Brady didn't want to retire going out in the divisional round of the playoffs, I can promise you that. And that's going to be difficult for him, because he played at a high level...
"He knows he can still play. So, when training camp starts this year, and the preseason starts, Brady is going to be biting the paint chips off the wall, in my opinion. It's going to be harder for him to let it go, because he's still one of the best quarterbacks in the league and he didn't end holding a Super Bowl trophy up. Yeah, he's had seven. But Brady is an ultimate competitor. And not going out on that ultimate high is going to bother him."
The entire NFL conversation between Salaam and Reiter can be accessed in the audio player above.
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