Tom Brady Breaks Down As He Retires ‘For Good’ Three Months After Divorce From Gisele Bündchen

The legendary NFL star Tom Brady broke down in tears as he retired “for good” on Wednesday morning in a 52-second video posted to his social media. This comes just three months after his shocking divorce from the supermodel Gisele Bündchen in a breakup that was rumored to stem from his decision to un-retire from football one year ago.

Brady Retires

“Good morning guys. I’ll get to the point right away. I’m retiring, for good,” Brady said in the video. “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.”

“My family, my friends, my teammates, my competitors,” he continued. “I could go over 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.”

Brady reportedly told the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 6am that he would be retiring, and the team paid tribute to him on Twitter later in the morning. 

Daily Mail reported that this comes exactly one year to the day when Brady first announced that he would be retiring, only to change his mind and return to the sport a few weeks later.

Should Brady stick to his guns this time, he will likely launch a career in broadcasting with FOX Sports, a network that has offered him a $375million contract.

After un-retiring last year, Brady would suffer his first losing season in the 23 years that he played in the NFL, leading the Buccaneers to an 8-9 record.

Related: Tom Brady Chokes Up As He Breaks His Silence After His NFL Season Comes To An End

Brady’s Divorce

Brady’s personal life was tumultuous as well over the past year, as he and Bündchen finalized their divorce back in October after thirteen years of marriage.

“There’s been trouble in the marriage over his decision to un-retire,” a source claimed at the time, according to Page Six. “Gisele has always been the one with the kids. They had agreed he would retire to focus on the family, then he changed his mind.”

Bündchen appears to still be on Brady’s mind in some capacity, as he included her in a montage of photos in his post to Instagram announcing his retirement. The fifth slide below is a photo of Brady and Bündchen on the field with their two children as well as the quarterback’s older son from a previous relationship. 

Bündchen had initially been supportive when Brady retired one year ago. 

“When I met you over 15 years ago, I didn’t know the first thing about football,” she said at the time, according to The New York Post. “But cheering for you and seeing you do what you love most made me learn about this wonderful game to the point that I seriously believed I knew more than the referees!”

“We always had a special champions playlist for every drive on our way to the game,” she added. “As a family, we always prayed for you, celebrated and supported you in every game, cheered every win and suffered with every loss.”

Related: Tom Brady Comes Unglued As He’s Asked About Retirement – ‘If I Knew What I Was Gonna F***ing Do…’

Brady Struggled With Divorce

Sources close to Brady say that he struggled with the divorce. 

“This was not Tom’s idea,” an insider told People Magazine of the breakup back in November. “This was never Tom’s idea.”

The source went on to say that Brady “wanted to do whatever he needed to do to fix things” with Bündchen because he “didn’t want the divorce and he didn’t want the marriage to end.”

Unfortunately for Brady, it may be too late for him to get Bündchen back, as rumors have swirled that she is dating her jiu-jitsu instructor, Joaquim Valente. 

ESPN reported that Brady leaves behind a storied 23-year career that saw him become the only player to win more than five Super Bowls, and he was named Super Bowl MVP five times.

His final season may not have gone how he’d hoped it would, but he certainly has nothing to be ashamed of, so we hope that Brady is moving forward to the next phase of his life with no regrets.