Did Tom Brady Just Snub New England Patriots In His Retirement Statement?
Did Tom Brady snub New England Patriots in his retirement announcement?
After a series of retirement buzzes rumbled Brady, he officially confirmed that he was indeed leaving NFL after 22 seasons in a new statement.
In his lengthy Instagram post, the Super Bowl champion offered his heartfelt messages to all the people who were with him in the past years in the NFL. He spent most of his 22 seasons with New England since he was drafted during the 2000 draft and replaced Drew Bledsoe in 2001.
Although he was with the Patriots in all his six Super Bowl titles, he seemingly failed to mention the team in his message.
"I've done a lot of reflecting the past week and have asked myself difficult questions. And I am so proud of what we have achieved. My teammates, coaches, fellow competitors, and fans deserve 100% of me, but right now, it's best I leave the field of play to the next generation of dedicated and committed athletes," he said.
He thanked Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have been his home in the past two years after leaving the Patriots. He also expressed his gratitude toward the Bucs fans, city of Tampa, Glazer family, and Buccaneers organization, among others.
Fans immediately took their disappointment on Twitter as Brady did not mention Patriots - or the team's fans - once.
But his goodbye statement was seemingly not over yet as he shared a follow-up post afterward.
Tom Brady Finally Acknowledges Patriots
In a post on Twitter, Brady formally gave a spotlight to Patriots and their fans after Robert Kraft released a statement following his retirement announcement.
"Thank You Patriots Nation I'm beyond grateful. Love you all," he wrote in the retweeted post.
Meanwhile, one fan noted that Brady already penned a goodbye message to the Patriot Nation in 2020 before his scheduled transfer to Buccaneers.
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Despite Bucs fans' recent heartbreak because of the snub and shott message, the team did not show any bad blood that it shared another post featuring a cartoon image of the NFL star wearing his old jersey while flaunting his seven Super Bowl trophies.
Brady shared the same post to his Instagram Story, writing: "I couldn't have dreamed of a better ride."
Brady spent 22 seasons in NFL and successfully brought home seven Super Bowl titles and 15 Pro Bowls.
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