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          Sports world reacts to Tom Brady's retirement

          • ESPN
          Feb 1, 2023, 09:30 AM ET

          Tom Brady has retired after 23 years in the NFL with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The GOAT called it quits "for good" this time in a social media post on Wednesday morning.

          After retiring and then quickly returning last offseason, the seven-time Super Bowl champion was quick to be clear about the decision. He even mentioned having to rescind his farewell message.

          "I won't be long-winded," Brady said in the video. "You only get one super-emotional retirement essay and I used mine up last year."

          Brady ends his career as the NFL's all-time leader in regular season passing yards (89,214) and touchdown passes (649). He won three league MVPs to go along with six titles with the Patriots and one with the Bucs. As noted by the league, he holds a whole bunch of other records as well.

          The sports world was there to congratulate Brady on one of the most amazing careers by any athlete.

          Brady's teams

          Brady, along with Peyton Manning, are the only two quarterbacks to win Super Bowls with multiple franchises. Unsurprisingly, Brady is the career leader in just about every meaningful passing category in Patriots history. In just two seasons in Tampa, he rose to third all-time on the Bucs' career passing yards list. Brady played college football with the Michigan Wolverines. He was 20-5 as a starter and was a backup on Michigan's 1997 national championship team.

          Canton, here they come

          Former Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt, who announced his retirement in late December, quickly welcomed Brady to the club.

          Suffice it to say, the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2028 is already stacked.

          Teammates

          Playing for 23 seasons, you have a lot of teammates. Brady was in the league long enough to play alongside and compete against fathers and sons. Many of those teammates tweeted to share their appreciation and memories.

          Around the league

          Players from across the NFL chimed in to celebrate, pay their respects and speculate about the timing of Brady's announcement.