Tom Brady's Dad Discusses When He Knew Son Would Retire, Reflects on His NFL Career

Tom Brady Sr. knew something was different this year when his son, Tom Brady, didn't immediately jump into training for the next season when his Tampa Bay Buccaneers were eliminated by a playoff loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

"There's no training or no plans on training anymore," Brady Sr. said, per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. "So I think, in his own mind, he's got a full commitment to taking care of his kids this year."

Brady, widely considered the greatest quarterback of all time, let the rest of the world know this year would be different when he announced his retirement with a video message Wednesday:

Granted, he retired last offseason as well before deciding to come back before the schedule even started. But it feels different this time, and he even made sure to say the latest retirement is "for good" in the message.

That means a 23-season career for the New England Patriots and Buccaneers that included seven Super Bowls, five Super Bowl MVPs, three league MVPs and two Offensive Player of the Year awards has ended. All he did was go from a sixth-round draft pick in 2000 to a 15-time Pro Bowler who led the league in passing yards four times and passing touchdowns five times.

There is no shortage of memories to choose from, but the first one that jumped out to Brady Sr. was when he found out his son would make the team ahead of the 2000 campaign.

While the idea of the Patriots releasing Brady as a rookie seems outlandish given the hindsight of the context of his career, a sixth-rounder making a team that was already established at quarterback wasn't a guarantee at the time.

"The odds weren't particularly in his favor, and they had three pretty well-established quarterbacks with John Friesz and Michael Bishop, and, obviously the leader of the band was Drew [Bledsoe]," Brady Sr. said. "That was the very first memory; that was a joyous moment. And then seeing him get into his first game, it was on Thanksgiving in Detroit [in 2000], and then going on and getting the chance to play the next year was thrilling."

Brady and the Patriots went on to win the Super Bowl in his second season, and the rest is history.

Even this past year when the Buccaneers went 8-9 and struggled to find consistency, he still guided them to a division title before the postseason loss to Dallas.

Brady Sr. is pleased with how the 45-year-old handled his final season as well.

"When it's not the best of circumstances, when you're the guy that has to represent the team and the organization and you're going through it on the public stage, I could not have admired the way he has handled this year more," he said. "I know that I could never have performed to that level, and I don't know how he did. I mean, he still had a pretty darn good year, although the team didn't have the [same] success."