One missing word shows Tom Brady was a savage all along

Tom Brady’s retirement statement included one final, hidden spike that shows he does not forgive or forget his “super-personal” divorce.

Tom Brady #12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Photo: Elsa/Getty Images/AFP.

You don’t become the GOAT playing nice.

It has long been speculated that a stone cold killer instinct sits at the centre of NFL legend Tom Brady — the smiling, charming, assassin that has tormented the NFL for two decades — and his retirement announcement has further revealed the brutal side of the sporting icon.

Conspicuously absent from the 44-year-old’s official retirement message on Wednesday morning is any mention of the Patriots — the team he won six Super Bowl rings with during a 20-year run in New England.

Brady, winner of a record seven Super Bowls, said he was quitting the sport after deciding he could no longer make the “competitive commitment” to continue.

His lengthy retirement announcement included nine separate messages posted on Twitter. None of them mentioned his former franchise, The New York Post reports.

He thanked his Buccaneers teammates; Bucs fans; the Tampa region; Buccaneers ownership; general manager Jason Licht; head coach Bruce Arians and the rest of the coaching staff; all of the franchise’s employees; his longtime trainer Alex Guerrero; his agents Don Yee and Steve Dubin; his parents and the Brady family; and finally, his wife Gisele Bundchen and his three kids.

Just not the Patriots.

Just not Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

Just not Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

Tom Brady with head coach Bill Belichick. Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images/AFP.

Brady seemed to tire of Belichick by the end of his 20th season, and he left Foxborough early in 2020 to sign with the Buccaneers, leading them to a Super Bowl in his first season.

The world is still yet to learn the full truth of the frosty divorce between the greatest quarterback of all time and the most successful coach of all time.

A book released last year claimed the pair’s relationship deteriorated over a long period of time before an unavoidable falling out caused Brady to pull the trigger and move to another team.

Brady signed with the Bucs in March 2020, but according to ESPN’s Seth Wickersham, he told those close to him as early as 2017 that he didn’t “want to play for Bill anymore”.

Brady said last year his break up with Belichick was “super-personal” and claimed he “had a great relationship” with his former mentor.

However, Wickersham’s book ‘It’s Better to be Feared’ reported the relationship between the pair was so broken Belichick chose to do Brady’s exit meeting over the phone instead of in person.

It’s why his statement has attracted such attention.

Brady has since spoken about the Patriots in responding to a message from Kraft the team posted on its official Twitter page.

Thank You Patriots Nation ❤️

I’m beyond grateful. Love you all. https://t.co/kXm2ET27Dk

— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) February 1, 2022

“Words cannot describe the feelings I have for Tom Brady, nor adequately express the gratitude my family, the New England Patriots and our fans have for Tom for all he did during his career,” the statement read.

“A generation of football fans have grown up knowing only an NFL in which Tom Brady dominated. He retires with nearly every NFL career passing record, yet the only one that ever mattered to him was the team’s win-loss record. In his 20 years as a starter his teams qualified for the playoffs 19 times. He led his teams to 10 Super Bowls, winning an NFL-record seven championships. In a team sport like football, it is rare to see an individual have such a dominant impact on a team’s success. You didn’t have to be a Patriots fan to respect and appreciate his competitiveness, determination and will to win that fueled his success. As a fan of football, it was a privilege to watch. As a Patriots fan, it was a dream come true.

It was quite the ride.

Thank you and congratulations, @TomBrady. pic.twitter.com/0gPwUROEkz

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) February 1, 2022

“I have the greatest respect for Tom personally and always will. His humility, coupled with his drive and ambition, truly made him special. I will always feel a close bond to him and will always consider him an extension of my immediate family.”

The Patriots earlier acknowledged the end of Brady’s career on Twitter.

“It was quite the ride. Thank you and congratulations,” the post read.

Brady did thank Patriots fans, Belichick and the Krafts on social media in 2020 when he announced his time with the team was over.