5 Players with most seasons played in the NFL feat. Tom Brady, Adam Vinatieri

If picturing an NFL landscape without Tom Brady feels weird to you, you're not alone. With 22 seasons of service officially coming to an end on Monday, Brady's reign of terror (at least to anyone outside of New England and/or Tampa Bay) is now subdued as we await his entry into the Hall of Fame in 2027.

The (arguably) GOAT announced his retirement this week, though some, perhaps made haggard by what Brady has done to their teams over the last two-plus decades, still persist that he'll rise from the proverbial gridiron grave for lone last scare.

As ink dries on Brady's retirement papers, SK ponders...

Where does Brady's tenure rank amongst the NFL's most seasoned veterans?

Brady, seen in 2015, changed the course of NFL history through his endeavors in New England and Tampa Bay (Photo: Getty)

T-5: QB Tom Brady (22 seasons)

By now, anyone who has tuned in to even the smallest amount of NFL football knows of Brady's story as a sixth-round pick who more or less wrote the league's history book at the turn of the century.

When Brady took over Drew Bledsoe's franchise quarterbacking job in New England on a fateful evening in September 2001, he held onto the reins through 2019, pausing only for a medically induced absence in 2008. You may also be familiar with Brady's endless list of accomplishments, which we'll abridge to his record seven Super Bowl titles, three MVPs, and six All-Pro nominations...and, frankly, all of those illustrious accolades seem low in hindsight.

Feagles, seen in 2006, spent the last seven seasons of his career with the New York Giants (Photo: Getty)

T-5: P Jeff Feagles (22 seasons)

Not only was Feagles up there in terms of seasons, he was well-accomplished in terms of games: from 1988 through 2009, not a single week of NFL action passed without him residing on an active roster, allowing him to appear in a league-record 352 consecutive games.

Other all-time marks held by Feagles include most career punts (1,713) and yardage (71,211) and he was also the final player featured in the famed Tecmo Super Bowl video game to announce his retirement.

Carney launches a kickoff in 2008 as a member of the New York Giants (Photo: Getty)

T-4: K John Carney (23 seasons)

In such a long career, a single mistake perhaps defined John Carney's NFL career, namely his memorable miss on the extra point that followed the New Orleans Saints' famous River City Relay in 2003. Carney was the last player active in the 1980s to walk away from the game, doing so in 2010 after the latter of two stints with the Saints.

Carney is one of only two players in league history to play in four different decades. He also remains the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers' all-time leading scorer.

Anderson was one of the last NFL players to wear a single-bar facemask (Photo: Getty)

T-4: K Gary Anderson (23 seasons)

Another special teams legend remembered for a single mistake, Gary Anderson, left a mark across several locales. His Minnesota misfire in the 1998-99 NFC title game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Atlanta Falcons followed a season where he converted each and every one of his field goals and extra points, becoming the first leg to do so over the course of a full season.

Anderson was making history long before that star-crossed campaign, as he was the first South African native to appear in an NFL game upon his debut with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1982.

Through his time with the Colts and Patriots, Adam Vinatieri has earned some of the most clutch points in NFL history (Photo: Getty)

3. K Adam Vinatieri (24 seasons)

This week, the football world both mourns and celebrates the departure of one of the architects of the Patriots' dynasty, arguably the greatest man to ever play his position, and one who wound up winning another Super Bowl elsewhere before his career was said and done...in other words, it's deja vu all over again.

Vinatieri was another decade closer as the last 1990s players to call it quits and is notable for scoring 1,000 points with two different franchises (New England and Indianapolis).

He currently stands as the NFL's all-time leader in points and Patriots fans know him best for the holy trinity of postseason boots, the snowy 2002 AFC Divisional playoff win over Oakland (the infamous "Tuck Rule Game") joining the end of the 36th and 38th Super Bowls.

Andersen poses with his Pro Football Hall of Fame bust in 2017 (Photo: Getty)

2. Morten Andersen (25 years)

Vinatieri is likely to join them the minute he's eligible, but Morten Andersen provided Jan Stenerud with some long-awaited company as the second exclusive placekicker inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017.

Though Vinatieri passed the scoring record set by Andersen, he remains the NFL's all-time leader in games played at 382 and the most consecutive appearances as a placekicker with 248.

Andersen's most famous kick countered Gary Anderson's miss in that 1998 NFC title game, as the "Great Dane" boot advanced the Atlanta Falcons to their first Super Bowl appearance.

1.George Blanda (26 seasons)

George Blanda's (who passed away in 2010) records are safe thanks to the retirement of Brady, as the Chicago Bears legend bested him by four years by playing to 48 as both a quarterback and placekicker.

Though Brady broke his mark by becoming the oldest quarterback to start a championship game last season, Blanda is still the oldest player to partake in an NFL game and also joins Carney as the only players to appear in four decades of action.

His coaching supervisors spanned from the earliest days of Paul "Bear" Bryant to the final days of John Madden with the Raiders.