Respect to the GOAT! One of the greatest football players of all time just put his helmet down for the last time and many celebrities flocked to Instagram to give their best Tom Brady retirement reactions.
On February 1, 2023, Tom Brady announced on social media that he would be retiring from football “for good,” but admitted it’s not the first time his fans have heard him say the word. Tearfully, he said: “I know the process was a pretty big deal last time, so when I woke up this morning I figured I’d just press record, and let you guys know first,” Tom filmed his retirement speech on a beach. “It won’t be long-winded, you only get one super-emotional retirement essay and I used mine up last year, so. I…really thank you, guys, so much to every single one of you, for supporting me, my family, my friends, teammates, my competitors. I could go on forever. There’s too many. Thank you guys for allowing me to live my absolute dream. I wouldn’t change a thing. Love you all.” After the announcement, celebrities, athletes and fans flocked towards Tom’s social media accounts to praise him.
After the Buccaneer’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys on January 15, 2023, which eliminated them from the playoffs, many teams speculated where and whether the champion quarterback would play next season. The 2022 season was one of the worst for the Super Bowl champ-led team, however, Tom still threw for an impressive 4,694 yards and 25 touchdowns.
So how did celebs in every industry respond to Tom Brady’s retirement announcement?
How did celebrities react to Tom Brady’s retirement?
How did celebrities react to Tom Brady’s retirement? By posting the GOAT emoji, of course. Defensive star JJ Watt, current Super Bowl quarterback Patrick Mahomes and celebs like Khloé Kardashian posted on Tom’s Instagram the literal goat emoji: 🐐, in reference to his reputation as the greatest of all time.
Fellow retirees JJ Watts and Serena Williams welcomed him into the retired club with open arms. Former football player JJ Watt tweeted, “Greatest of All Time. No question, no debate. It’s been an honor and a privilege. 🐐 PS – The newly retired group meets on the golf course every morning at 10am. Drinks are on the new guy, so bring your wallet.” Serena Williams commented on the former Buccaneers’ quarterback’s post, “I’m getting teary eyed watching this. Sad to see you go. Welcome to the retirement world…. Again 😜” David Beckham helped spread the love, “We love you man ❤️ @tombrady” Derek Jeter also tweeted, “Congrats @TomBrady on an unbelievable career. It was fun to watch!
Hugh Jackman commended Tom’s devotion to the craft of the sport. “A sensational career. To say the least! Onward. Love HJ” Gwyneth Paltrow commented, “WE LOVE YOU TOM.”
Among the plethora of people who supported Tom, his ex-wife Gisele Bündchen also commented on her ex-husband’s post. Gisele commented, “Wishing you only wonderful things in this new chapter of your life. 🙏🏼.” People confirmed on October 28, 2022, that Tom and Gisele filed for divorce in Florida, where Tom played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Tom initially announced his decision to retire from the NFL in February 2022 but retracted the statement in April 2022. “These past two months I’ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands. That time will come. But it’s not now,” he tweeted. “I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I’m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business LFG.”
Image: Sebastian Widmann/Getty Images
As for his post-retirement plans, Tom is planning to sign on as an analyst for Fox Sports with a reported contract for $375 million. “There’s so much to learn, there’s so much to teach, you know, it’s ever-evolving. Believe me, as much as you think I’m willing to teach people, I’m really looking to learn. I’m really looking to learn from all the people that I get to talk to,” he said in his podcast. “I get an opportunity to be in a job in the future where I get to travel around and learn from all the other people that I’ve looked up to and admired and different organizations and different people. So it’s exciting for me too. I feel like the opportunity to do that is something that I’m really looking forward to whenever that time comes.”
“We are pleased to announce that immediately following his playing career, seven-time Super Bowl Champion Tom Brady will be joining us at @foxsports as our lead analyst,” said Lachlan Murdoch via Fox Sports’ Twitter in May 2022. “Over the course of this long-term agreement, Tom will not only call our biggest NFL games with Kevin Burkhardt but will also serve as an ambassador for us, particularly with respect to client and promotional initiatives. We are delighted that Tom has committed to joining the Fox team and wish him all the best during this upcoming season.”
Tom responded at the time, “Excited, but a lot of unfinished business on the field with the @Buccaneers #LFG,” the quarterback quote tweeted the announcement. Lachlan said it’s “entirely up to” Tom when he decides to retire from football and join Fox.
On his podcast Let’s Go! with Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray, he discussed how football has an effect on his work-life balance. “The reality is, you can really only be authentic to yourself,” he said. “I almost look at like a football season like you’re going away on deployment in the military. And it’s like, ‘Man, here I go again. There’s only one way to do it.’” He continued, “Whenever you may say, ‘Oh man, I want to make sure I spend a little more time doing this,’ your competitiveness takes over. And as much as you want to have this playful balance with the work balance, you’re going to end up doing exactly what you’ve always done. Which is why you are who you are. You’re going to go, ‘How do I get it done?’ You know, ‘What do I got to do to get it done?’”
For more about Tom Brady, read his book, The TB12 Method. The New York Times bestseller, which has been described as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers player’s “athlete’s bible,” takes readers through Brady’s revolutionary training, conditioning and wellness system that kept him at the top of the NFL for more than two decades. The book dives into Brady’s TB12 Method, a performance lifestyle brand he co-founded in 2013, that focuses on a more natural, healthier way of exercising, training and living and how to maintain one’s own peak performance while decreasing injury risks.
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