Guy who ended Chargers’ Super Bowl hopes on more than one occasion finally retires

After 22 years of terrorizing the NFL, including two decades of dominance in the AFC, Tom Brady is finally calling it a career. A report initially broke several days ago claiming he had come to the decision, but that was quickly squashed by the 44-year old quarterback.

However, just a few days following the false report, the G.O.A.T took to all of his social media platforms to finally break the news himself.

In a statement he posted on his Instagram account, Brady said he’s “not going to make that competitive commitment anymore” and that it’s now time for him to focus his time and energy on other things, including his family.

Brady spent 20 seasons in New England where he won six Super Bowls before winning his seventh during a final two-year stint with the Buccaneers. He combined to win five Super Bowl MVPs, as well. He calls it a career after rewriting the majority of the NFL’s passing records, including the marks for total touchdown passes (624) and career passing yards (84,250).

On three separate occasions, Tom Brady ended the playoff run of a Chargers team. The first time was in 2006 when he narrowly edged the Bolts by a score of 24-21 in the divisional round. The following year, they met once again in the AFC Championship game where Brady once again came out on top 21-12. The final time came during the last playoff appearance by the Chargers in 2018 when New England throttled them at home 41-28.

As great as it was to watch him play (against other teams) and set numerous records along the way, it’s going to be a refreshing change of pace to see how the NFL evolves in a post-Brady world. With plenty of young and exciting quarterbacks on the rise, who will be the next to come even close to what Brady did in his 22 years?

Time will tell. But for now, so long Tom.