Conspicuously absent from Tom Brady’s retirement message is any mention of the Patriots.
The 44-year-old Brady ended days of drama Tuesday morning by officially announcing his retirement following 22 NFL seasons and seven Super Bowls. Six of those Super Bowls came during his 20-year run in New England.
But in his statement published on social media, Brady did not say anything about his former team. He thanked his Buccaneers teammates; Bucs fans; the Tampa region; Buccaneers ownership; general manager Jason Licht; head coach Bruce Arians and the rest of the coaching staff; all of the franchise’s employees; his longtime trainer Alex Guerrero; his agents Don Yee and Steve Dubin; his parents and the Brady family; and finally, his wife Gisele Bundchen and his three kids.
His time with the Patriots and those associated with it, most notably Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft, were omitted in the nine-part message.
Brady seemed to tire of Belichick by the end of his 20th season, and he left Foxborough early in 2020 to sign with the Buccaneers, leading them to a Super Bowl in his first season.
The Patriots did acknowledge the end of Brady’s career on Twitter.
“It was quite the ride. Thank you and congratulations,” the post read.
Kraft also released a statement through the team.
“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 career 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 teams to 10 Super Bowls, winning an NFL-record seven championships. In a team sport like football, it is rare to see an individual have such a dominant impact on a team’s success. You didn’t have to be a Patriots fan to respect and appreciate his competitiveness, determination and will to win that fueled his success. As a fan of football, it was a privilege to watch. As a Patriots fan, it was a dream come true.
“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.”
Brady did thank Patriots fans, Belichick and the Krafts on social media in 2020 when he announced his time with the team was over.