During the final week of January, rumors circulated concerning the retirement of Tom Brady, an icon of the National Football League. Leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl victory in the previous season and leading six total championship campaigns in New England before that, Brady’s 22-year-long career is perhaps more storied than those of the league’s many consecrated veterans. However, on February 1, 2022, he officially announced that it would be coming to an end.
Taking the reins from New England’s franchise QB Drew Bledsoe in 2001, Tom Brady helped to orchestrate a stunning Super Bowl victory over the then-Saint Louis Rams. This would be followed by narrow championship wins against the Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles in the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Another three would follow in the 2014, 2016, and 2018 seasons—and a speculative far-future MVP nod courtesy of Battlefield 2042—with only the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles ever able to conquer the "G.O.A.T." on the NFL’s biggest stage.
Confirming speculation that he would not reappear under center with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2022, Brady took to Instagram to post a heartfelt commemoration of his time in the league followed by an admission that, at the age of 44, he no longer felt as if he could make a “competitive commitment” to the game any longer. Winning the hearts of Bostonians, Floridians, and football fans the world over, his triumphs and rivalries were key parts of the NFL over the past two decades, and many—even his former teammates who trolled him over his celebrity—will be upset to see him go.
This includes fans of the annual sports video game franchise Madden. A staple figure in the series, he and his teammates adorned the cover multiple times during his two-decade span, with the QB adorning the cover of Madden 18 and sharing the cover of Madden NFL 22 with Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Coupled with the passing of franchise namesake John Madden in late 2021, Electronic Arts’ outgunning video game line may never look quite the same.
The Madden games actually serve as a record of Brady’s incredible career; while he stands as a prominent member of the 99 Club in current installments, Madden 02, the first Madden game in which he appeared, and a title far removed from the current glitch-riddled entries—essentially labeled him as a detriment to any team looking to pick him up. With an overall player rating of just 51, he was far from the game’s best quarterback, and he would immediately prove the game’s developers wrong with his performance in the ensuing seasons.