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Tom Brady finally acknowledged the Patriots after leaving them out of his retirement farewell message that he posted on Instagram and Twitter this morning.
Last week, there was speculation that the Buccaneers quarterback was retiring. ESPN's Adam Schefter tweeted on Saturday that Brady had retired, but it wasn't official as the 44-year-old hadn't notified the Bucs of his future plans.
This morning, TB12 took to Instagram to address the matter. After having some time to reflect and think about his future, he ultimately decided to hang his cleats up this morning in a nine-part post on social media.
There was one thing that stood out about the nine-part post, he didn't mention the word "patriot" once. Not only did he not mention the Patriots in his thank-you farewell post, he didn't acknowledge anyone from their organization, such as Bill Belichick or any other players.
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Feeling slighted, Patriots fans were livid.
Shortly after TB12 broke the news about his retirement, the Patriots tweeted a post regarding his legendary career with a message from owner Robert Kraft.
“Words cannot describe the feelings I have for Tom Brady, nor adequately express the gratitude my family, the New England Patriots and our fans have for Tom for all he did during his career. A generation of football fans have grown up knowing only an NFL in which Tom Brady dominated. He retires with nearly every NFL passing record, yet the only one that ever mattered to him was the team’s win-loss record. In his 20 years as a starter his teams qualified for the playoffs 19 times. He led his team to 10 Super Bowls, winning an NFL-record seven championships…I have the greatest respect for Tom personally and always will. His humility, coupled with his drive and ambition, truly made him special. I will always feel a close bond to him and will always consider him an extension of my immediate family."
Tom Brady acknowledges Patriots following retirement
TB12 reposted the message on his Twitter page and Instagram story, adding, "Thank you, Patriots and Patriots nation. Beyond grateful and love you all."
As Patriots fans waited for their former quarterback to acknowledge them, he finally did when he reposted the Patriots message on his Instagram. He also thanked the Patriots organization when he left New England to sign with the Buccaneers two years ago in a post titled "Forever a Patriot" on March 17, 2020.
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