By: Rohan Bommaraju — Sports Editor

February 1st, 2022 will be remembered forever as the day the greatest football player of all time finally hung up his cleats. Quarterback Tom Brady called it a career after his 20 years with the New England Patriots and 2 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Brady’s career is a tale of unmatched success. Throughout his career, Brady won 7 Super Bowls (6 with New England, 1 with Tampa Bay) while breaking every major NFL quarterback record. 

98.5 Video Producer and Writer Alex Barth says that no quarterback will ever match Brady’s success. “Not only did he dominate, but he did so for over two decades and multiple eras. It’s not replicable,” said Barth.

Sharon High School senior Shane Sekuler says that Brady’s age and desire to spend more time with his family contributed to his decision to retire. “He’s just been playing football for so long that his children need him. His family needs him. Imagine if your dad was gone all the time for almost your entire childhood. … that’s why he retired.”

Barth says that the main driver of Brady’s retirement is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ organizational instability. “There are a number of pending free agents the team won’t have money to sign, and it seems coach Bruce Arians may have lost the locker room. It’s not a winning environment, and he probably doesn’t want to play for a team that can’t win the Super Bowl.”

In a post-game interview after facing his former franchise, Brady said “I’ll be part of this community for a long time so they’ll see me around. I’ll be here [for] games. When it’s all said and done and retire I’ll be around and they’ll get a chance to see more of me.”  

Barth says that there will be more coming from Brady in New England. “I’m not sure if it will be a one-day contract, but there will be something. Retiring Brady’s jersey could be one of the ways he’s recognized. I think it will be on his schedule, I’m not sure how much time he wants away from the game.”

In his retirement post on his social media, Brady lacked any mention of the Patriots or their fan base until his Instagram story, where he echoed praise from Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick. After leaving the Patriots for free agency post-2019 season, Barth says that that was Brady’s goodbye to the Patriots’ fanbase. “Maybe he was being a little petty about the team being willing to let him walk in free agency, but he said his piece. He also gave the fans six Super Bowls and 20 years’ worth of memories, he didn’t owe them anything more.”