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Tom Brady personally announced his own retirement, but this came days after the news had already been leaked via national NFL reporters. Thus, tributes came out before he could make the news official.
This created an odd situation where he was thanking everyone at his own pace, but had been rushed by the premature announcement of his retirement. Initially, this caused some backlash after the quarterback only mentioned the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and not the New England Patriots.
Yet that made sense considering the quarterback was retiring after playing with the Buccaneers. Patriots fans may have felt slighted, but the delay was reasonable considering the circumstances.
Tom Brady got around to thanking everyone
It did not take long for him to give a shoutout to the Patriots and all their fans. He clearly just had a media strategy in place, rather than just spamming out tweets at random.
There is also only so much he can say via social media. Brady did not retire at a press conference or following a Super Bowl win. He did so from the comfort of his home and had to deal with the limitations of the online platform when offering his thanks.
Brady had also already issued a heartfelt farewell message in March 2020 after leaving the Patriots. His post was titled "FOREVER A PATRIOT".
So the narrative that Brady is icing out his former team seems to be unfounded speculation. He even recently shared a hype video that featured some of his best moments in New England. Even though he doesn't directly mention the Patriots, the content of the video speaks for itself.
It's safe to assume Brady will return to New England for a proper send-off, along with a jersey retirement ceremony. This is only the beginning of a celebration that will last until 2027, when he enters the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Patriots fans can rest easy knowing they witnessed six Super Bowl championships with Brady at the helm. That alone is a great thank you for the fan's constant support over the course of two decades.
