Greg Bishop, Senior Writer for Sports Illustrated, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says Tom Brady's legacy is all about 'progress' and expects the future Hall of Famer to bolster his entrepreneurial ventures following his retirement.

Closing Bell

End of an Era: Tom Brady Announces Retirement From NFL

all right Tom brady rocking the football world by announcing his retirement on instagram this morning. Yes, it's confirmed after being deacon firmed brady, rewriting the history book during his 22 year career setting NFL records with seven Super Bowl titles, five Super Bowl M. V. P. Awards. Most career passing yards and most career passing touchdowns. What a career joining us now. Greg Bishop, senior writer covering the NFL for Sports Illustrated. Greg good to have you on the show when you look back at all of these accolades that we mentioned and all the success that brady's teams have enjoyed. What do you think stands out the most when it comes to his legacy? Yeah. You know, to me what's really difficult when you look to gauge Tom brady's legacy is that it's just hard to define him by anyone's season. Anyone moment or even anyone decade. You know this is a guy who was part of NFL history for two decades, who was the best player on the best dynasty ever in sports who has a fitness and lifestyle brand off off the field that's become ubiquitous. And to me when I look at it, I actually don't think of any of the things that came out of it. But I think of something that's really boring in comparison to me, Tom brady's legacy is process. It's doing the same thing day after day, week after week, month after month. This is a guy who worked out on Super Bowl sunday even when he wasn't playing in the game and he usually was playing in it. And so it's interesting to me that of all the things you just listed and it is quite a mouthful that really it all comes from the same place which is a lot of lot of work. Yeah, I would argue a lot of discipline and you mentioned the past two decades, we've seen him really working on an elite level that has yet to be seen. I think really by any other player that we've witnessed in the NFL, do you think that there's anything that other quarterbacks or professional athletes can take away from his prolonged career? Yeah, I think and it doesn't have to be necessarily you know, following the same blueprint or buying the T. V. 12 book and you know highlighting different pages and really applying it to your life to me would define Tom was a dedication to process that was very genuine to him. So when you look at the next generation of NFL quarterbacks that are coming up, whether it's Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen Joe Burrow is playing in his 1st Super Bowl in a couple of weeks. To me they need to find their own process, they need to find their own people and they need to dedicate themselves in a similar way and I think that as long as it's genuine, you know, they'll be able to have more success than they would otherwise, although I think it would be pretty difficult for any of them to ultimately match what brady did. Yeah and Tom Brady also worth mentioning coming off of one of the best seasons of his career. Some of the stats here um 5300 passing yards, 43 touchdown passes. Obviously age is a factor here. It's been two decades. But why do you think now is the moment he has decided to retire? Yeah. To me, what stood out the most was the timing. We see a lot of elite NFL quarterbacks that end up retiring because they can't throw anymore or because it's difficult you know to bring the same level of energy to the day. Tom Brady is a guy whose last touchdown pass went 57 yards in the air and you know friendly reminder of the obvious he's 44 years old. Which is pretty crazy when you think about it To me. I think his decision centered more on the rest of his life. You're looking at a guy who has you know four kids who is married, who wants to be more present at home, who wants to spend more time with his family. And then you look at all the other endeavors that he's into whether it's the t. v. 12 sort of lifestyle brand, whether he'll be giving speeches you know um that he just introduced a clothing line and when I think when you look at the sort of future for him it could be as big outside of football as it has been inside it and that obviously that impact has been vast and huge and so I think it was the combination of wanting to be home more of understanding how his family felt about his career and it lasted this long end up being able to pour himself into everything that's next. Yeah, Greg, I'm so glad that you mentioned that. I think a lot of people forget for athletes out there, they've got families and for tom brady, he's got business on business. You mentioned TB 12 Sports. Um I think you also mentioned a clothing line, he has an N. F. T. Agency called Autograph. In what ways do you see his business building moving forward as an entrepreneur? You mentioned speaking engagements, but um from a business perspective, what do you foresee for him? Yeah, you know, it's tough to find something that tom brady doesn't do well, he wrote the forward for the book I did, talking to goats on Jim Gray and he even wrote far better than I can play quarterback. I think what you're gonna see is a big time expansion there. I think it's gonna be you know, T. V. 12 all over. I know they've opened centers in other cities. The plan is to expand that, I think you're going to see him branch out more into documentary filmmaking like he did with man in the arena that's been airing all season on ESPN plus and I think you're gonna see him really branch into, you know sort of a Michael Jordan or Magic johnson or guys who have been elite, true superstars and have gone on to be entrepreneurs and businessmen, And what's interesting to me about Tom Brady is that he's got his hands in so many different things, you know, for, for 22 years, his life was defined by a singular pursuit by football and everything that that went into it. And now I think you're going to see him all over the place. I think it's going to be different businesses, different aims, and I think he'll end up elevating all of them pretty soon. Maybe ownership on the horizon, we'll have to wait and see. That's Greg Bishop, senior writer for Sports Illustrated. Thanks so much.