There are many impressive aspects of Tom Brady's legendary NFL career, and near the top of the list was his longevity.
The 45-year-old quarterback, who played 23 seasons between the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, officially retired Wednesday in a social media video. After unretiring last year, Brady says this time it's "for good."
It's one thing to play a long time and have your career span multiple decades. It's quite another to play at a very high, and often elite, level for the entire time, but that's what Brady did.
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If you break his career into his 20s, his 30s and his 40s, each section would be worthy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Who else has three Hall of Fame-caliber eras inside a single career?
Tom Brady in his 20s
- 21,564 passing yards
- 147 passing TD
- 3 Super Bowl wins
Tom Brady in his 30s
- 40,018 passing yards
- 309 passing TD
- 2 Super Bowl wins
Tom Brady in his 40s
- 27,632 passing yards
- 193 passing TD
- 2 Super Bowl wins
Brady also is the only player in pro football history to win a Super Bowl or NFL championship in three different decades. He won Super Bowl XXXVI, XXXVIII and XXXIX in the 2000s, Super Bowl XLIX, LI and LIII in the 2010s and Super Bowl LV in the 2020s.
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Father Time is undefeated and, eventually, he always wins. But there's no question Brady gave him one of the toughest fights we've ever seen.