Patriots heavily featured in career retrospective posted by Tom Brady: ‘Thank you all for making this incredible journey possible’

One of the more tiresome storylines to emerge in the aftermath of Tom Brady’s retirement earlier this week, was him not mentioning his old club in the statement released on social media. He named multiple people as well as his team of the last two years, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but did not spend a word on the New England Patriots or their fans.

This led to a lot of negative feedback, mainly, as one would expect, on social media and sports talk radio. Whether or not in response to that, or already planned regardless of said statement, Brady released a career retrospective on Thursday — one that heavily features the Patriots and thanks them, their fans and the New England region as a whole.

The one-minute clip starts with Pat Summerall’s famous introduction of the 2001 Patriots ahead of Super Bowl XXXVI — “Choosing to be introduced as a team...” — before showing scenes of Brady’s private and professional live both as a Patriot and a Buccaneer:

The caption posted alongside the video addressed Brady’s friends, family and fans directly, claiming that they “have given me what I have today.”

I played for the name on the front of my jersey and the name on the back of my jersey. I played for my friends, my family & our community — every single one of you — that have given me what I have today.

I love you all. Thank you ALL for making this incredible journey possible

Brady spent the first 20 years of his career with the Patriots, winning six Super Bowl rings. He joined the Buccaneers in 2020 for a two-year encore that saw him win his seventh championship.

The Patriots’ leadership in the form of team owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick released statements following Brady’s retirement earlier this week. Brady himself had mentioned neither in his own retirement address, but the belief remains that the two sides — the organization and its greatest ever player — will cooperate in some form for an announcement or ceremony in the near future.

While nothing appears to be imminent, Brady not returning to the New England area at one point over the coming weeks or months can be ruled out. He essentially said so himself in an interview clip used for the career retrospective posted this week.

“You know it’s been my home for 20 years. I had the best memories, my kids were born here. I’ll be a part of this community for a long time.”