Arizona Tribune - Patriots coach Belichick praises 'ultimate competitor' Brady

Brady made his retirement official on Tuesday. His initial statement didn't mention the Patriots or Belichick, although hours later he re-shared a post by the team on his Instagram account and wrote: "Thank you Patriots and Patriot Nation. Beyond grateful and love you all."

A day later, Belichick added his own observations to the flood of praise for Brady.

"I am privileged to have drafted and coached Tom Brady, the ultimate competitor and winner," Belichick said in a statement issued by the Patriots.

"Tom's humble beginning in professional football ultimately ended with him becoming the best player in NFL history.

"Tom consistently performed at the highest level against competition that always made him the number one player to stop. His pursuit of excellence was inspirational. Tom was professional on and off the field, and carried himself with class, integrity, and kindness.

"I thank Tom for his relentless pursuit of excellence and positive impact on me and the New England Patriots for 20 years."

Brady, 44, said Tuesday he was bringing the curtain down on a glittering 22-season career after deciding he could no longer make the "competitive commitment" to continue.

His announcement drew a line under three days of feverish speculation that he was preparing to call time on his career.

He retired with NFL career passing records of 7,263 completions on 11,317 attempts for 84,520 yards and 624 touchdowns.

The five-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player and three time NFL season MVP had a record tally of 243 regular-season victories.

T.Sanchez--AT