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    Tom Brady on Adam Vinatieri's Retirement: 'Honored to Have Played' with the GOAT

    Mike Chiari@@mikechiariFeatured Columnist IVMay 27, 2021

    FOXBOROUGH, MA - OCTOBER 4: Indianapolis Colts and former New England Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri gives a fist pump greeting to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady before the start of the game. The New England Patriots host the Indianapolis Colts in a regular season NFL football game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA on Oct. 4, 2018. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
    John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

    Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady praised former New England Patriots teammate Adam Vinatieri on Wednesday after the kicker announced his NFL retirement.

    As seen in the following screenshot from Robert Alvarez of PatsFans.com, Brady dedicated an Instagram post to Vinatieri:

    Robert Alvarez @ralvarez617

    Tom Brady shares some thoughts regarding Vinatieri's retirement pic.twitter.com/0bulhMmfzA

    Brady hailed Vinatieri for being clutch and also referred to him as the greatest of all time in his post.

    Vinatieri and Brady were teammates in New England for six seasons from 2000-05, winning three Super Bowls together.

    During the early part of his career, Brady was the beneficiary of some huge kicks from Vinatieri in pressure-packed moments.

    Vinatieri's game-winning field goal in a blizzard against the Oakland Raiders in the AFC Divisional Round of the 2001 playoffs was quite possibly the starting point of the Patriots dynasty.

    He would also go on to make the game-winning field goal with no time remaining on the clock in Super Bowl XXXVI against the St. Louis Rams during that same playoff run, punctuating a masterful drive orchestrated by Brady.

    Vinatieri hit the game-winning field goal with four seconds left in Super Bowl XXXVIII against the Carolina Panthers. In Super Bowl XXXIX, his field goal midway through the fourth quarter proved to be the difference in a 24-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

    After 10 productive seasons in New England, Vinatieri spent the final 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. He won his fourth and final championship for the Colts in 2007, giving him more Super Bowl wins than any kicker in NFL history.

    Tom Brady on Adam Vinatieri's Retirement: 'Honored to Have Played' with the GOAT
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    In 365 career regular-season games, Vinatieri connected on 83.8 percent of his field goal attempts and 97.3 percent of his extra point tries.

    Also, his 599 career field goals and 2,673 career points are all-time NFL records.

    Given his stats, Super Bowl wins and the fact that he is a three-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro, Vinatieri has all the factors needed to be a Hall of Famer.

    If Vinatieri does ultimately reach the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he would become only the third full-time placekicker to accomplish that feat, joining Jan Stenerud and Morten Andersen.

    Since Brady is a seven-time Super Bowl champion and widely viewed as the greatest quarterback of all time, he is sure to join his former Patriots teammate in Canton, Ohio, one day as well.