Tom Brady: who is the American football player - and why wasn't he in the Super Bowl?

The 2022 Super Bowl took place last night (Sunday 13 February 2022) with the Los Angeles Rams winning for the second time in their history.

The Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 having come back from 13-3 in the second quarter.

With just one minute 25 seconds left on the clock, Cooper Kupp scored his second touchdown of the match and handed the Rams their second NFL title.

Not only did Kupp score two touchdowns but the 28-year-old wide receiver went on to be named the game’s Most Valuable Player.

Fans around the world were not only treated to such a triumphant spectacle of football, but Dr Dre also put on an iconic halftime show which included Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J Blige.

There was however one notable absence from the Los Angeles SoFi Stadium. Tom Brady, the former American Football Player and one of the world’s best ever quarterbacks was not present for the match following his recent retirement from the sport.

The seven-time Super Bowl winner’s team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,  were knocked out in the final stages of the Division matches and were not present for the playoffs.

Following their exit from the competition, the 44-year-old American icon announced his retirement from the game.

Who is Tom Brady?

Brady was born in San Mateo, California, and was selected 199th overall by the New England Patriots in the 2000 NFL Draft.

In his early American Football days, Brady was never seen as much of a talent and it was only after his first few seasons with the Patriots that his prowess was noticed and he was subsequently considered one of the biggest draft steals.

Brady played for the Patriots until 2019 and won six Super Bowl Champions as well as winning the Super Bowl MVP four times with them.

In 2019, Brady announced he was moving to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and he helped his new team to go onto win the 2021 Super Bowl.

The 44-year-old holds nearly every major quarterback record, including passing yards, completions, touchdown passes and games started.

He has never had a losing season and is the NFL leader in career quarterback wins, quarterback regular season wins, quarterback playoff wins as well as being the only footballer to win the Super Bowl MVP for two different franchises.

Brady was also unanimously named to the 100th Anniversary All-Time in 2019 and is the only NFL quarterback named to two all-decade teams (2000s and 2010s).

When did Tom Brady retire?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers made it through to the Divisional Playoffs but suffered a shock defeat to the ultimate winners of the Super Bowl, the LA Rams. Rams beat the Buccs 30-27 kicking Brady and his team out of a competition he has won more than any other player.

It had been speculated that Brady would retire if the Buccs did not make it through to this year’s Super Bowl, however previous suggestions from Brady himself had indicated he wished to play until he was at least 45.

Taking to Twitter at the beginning of February, the most successful quarterback in NFL history announced he would be retiring: “This is difficult for me to write, but here it goes. I am not going to make that competitive commitment anymore. I have loved my NFL career, and now it’s time to focus my time and energy on other things that require my attention.

“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.”

When is the next NFL season?

The 2022 NFL season will begin with the LA Rams as the champions on Thursday 8 September 2022 and conclude on Sunday 8 January 2023.

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