| | | | | | | Presented By Wondrium | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker · Feb 02, 2023 | | 👋 Good morning! Happy Thursday, friends. Today's word count: 1,569 words (6 minutes). Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: 🐐 Brady retires (for real this time) |  | | | Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images | | | | For the second year in a row — on exactly the same day — Tom Brady retired. This time, he says, it's for good, Axios' Jeff Tracy and I write. Driving the news: Brady, 45, posted an emotional video on social media Wednesday morning announcing that his NFL playing career is over. "You only get one, super emotional retirement essay, and I used mine up last year. ... Thank you guys so much ... for allowing me to live my absolute dream. I wouldn't change a thing. Love you all." — Brady By the numbers: The seven-time Super Bowl champion and three-time NFL MVP is inarguably the greatest quarterback to ever live. - He's the all-time leader in passing TDs (649) and yards (89,214), and second-place Drew Brees isn't particularly close in either category (571 TDs and 80,358 yards).
- He played in 10 Super Bowls and 14 conference title games in 21 full-time seasons as a starter and won championships 19 years apart, a major sports record.
Wild stat: Brady's 35 playoff wins are more than all but five teams, none of which are more than two wins ahead of him and one of which is the organization he called home for 20 years.  Data: Pro Football Reference; Table: Axios Visuals The big picture: Tom Brady played until he was 45 because he was obsessed. Obsessed with football. Obsessed with competition. Obsessed with winning. Obsessed with being part of a team. - So much of his identity was wrapped up in his job, and his never-ending career — plus his un-retirement — makes it easy to look at him and say, "this is a guy who can't imagine life without football."
- Perhaps there's some truth to that. He has, after all, been in the NFL since he was 23 years old. But for "the guy who couldn't walk away," Brady has sure done a lot to prepare for the next chapter.
- He has a broadcasting deal, an apparel brand, the TB12 business, a production company, a podcast and enough other investments and opportunities to keep him busy for the next 100 years — which is good because he probably plans on living that long.
What they're saying: ESPN+'s Seth Wickersham ($) on Brady's magical ride... We've known him for a long time now. We've known him as a single young man, as a married man and as a single middle-aged man. ... We've known him so long that it seems like we've known him since he walked into campus at Michigan, as if we all knew what was to come. ... And the entire time we've known him, we've known a man who has not only lived a life of upward trajectory but has been accustomed to life on an upward trajectory. Only twice has that trajectory nearly gone off course: During the 2000 NFL draft, and in 2008, when Brady blew out his knee. He watched the game go on without him, and whether he fully articulated it or not, he decided to try to bend the game to his will. He retooled his diet and exercise regimen into something that would later become a business, and then he started talking about playing until age 45, patient zero for a host of peers who would be influenced by his ambition. — Full story (ESPN+ subscription required) What's next: Brady is set to join Fox Sports, where he'll make more money in the booth than he did on the field — in less than half the time. - Greatest QB ever: 23 years, $333 million
- Unproven analyst: 10 years, $375 million
Not-so-bold prediction ... Don't be surprised if Brady is included in Fox's Super Bowl coverage next weekend. Go deeper: |     | | | | | | 2. 🏆 GIF du jour: One man, seven rings |  | | | GIF: Aïda Amer/Axios; Photos: Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images; Andy Lyons/Getty Images; Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images; Tom Pennington/Getty Images; Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images; Harry How/Getty Images; Patrick Smith/Getty Images | | | | Tom Brady won a record seven Super Bowls and five Super Bowl MVPs (🏆) in the span of 19 years and three different decades, Jeff writes. - SB XXXVI: Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Feb. 3, 2002) — Age 24 🏆
- SB XXXVIII: Patriots 32, Panthers 29 (Feb. 1, 2004) — Age 26 🏆
- SB XXXIX: Patriots 24, Eagles 21 (Feb. 6, 2005) — Age 27
- SB XLIX: Patriots 28, Seahawks 24 (Feb. 1, 2015) — Age 37 🏆
- SB LI: Patriots 34, Falcons 28 (Feb. 5, 2017) — Age 39 🏆
- SB LIII: Patriots 13, Rams 3 (Feb. 3, 2019) — Age 41
- SB LV: Buccaneers 31, Chiefs 9 (Feb. 7, 2021) — Age 43 🏆
The bottom line: Sports have a way of surprising us, but it feels safe to say we'll never see anything like this again. | | | | | | | | 3. 🏒 Snapshot: NHL at the break |  Standings: Axios Visuals Here's where things stand as the NHL enters the All-Star break. How do you feel about your team? Title favorites: There are 10 teams with at least a 3% chance of winning the Stanley Cup, per FiveThirtyEight: - Bruins (24% chance)
- Avalanche (17%)
- Hurricanes (12%)
- Lightning (10%)
- Oilers (5%)
- Rangers (5%)
- Maple Leafs (4%)
- Wild (4%)
- Stars (4%)
- Jets (3%)
Of note ... Wednesday marked the 30th anniversary of the NHL naming Gary Bettman as its first commissioner. Three decades later, Bettman, 70, is the longest-serving commissioner in major North American sports. Go deeper: | | | | | | | | A message from Wondrium | | Start binge-learning in 2023 | | |  | | | | Go from binge-watching to binge-learning. With Wondrium, find new passions or dig deeper into your favorite topics with expert-led courses, documentaries and other educational adventures. Start with a 14-day free trial — then save 50% off your first 3 months. | | | | | | 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |  | | | Screenshot: @SportsCenter (Twitter) | | | | 🏀 Big 3 in the Big Apple: Former WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart is signing with the Liberty, where she'll join former MVP Jonquel Jones (also added this offseason) and star point guard Sabrina Ionescu. 🏈 Top recruiting classes: Wednesday was National Signing Day, the last chance for college football recruits to sign their letters of intent. 2023's top five classes: Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma and Ohio State. 🏈 Eagles player indicted: Eagles reserve OL Josh Sills has been indicted by a grand jury on rape and kidnapping charges. He's been placed on the commissioner's exempt list and can't travel to the Super Bowl. 💔 Fan dies after melee: A brawl broke out among spectators at a middle school basketball game in northern Vermont on Tuesday, and a 60-year-old man who participated in the fight has died. 🏈 Arena football returns: The Arena Football League, which folded in 2019 after filing for bankruptcy, will relaunch in summer 2024 with 16 teams. | | | | | | | | 5. 🎓 College sports' post-pandemic rebound |  Data: Sportico; Chart: Axios Visuals In 2020, college athletic directors warned that the pandemic was an existential threat to the future of their programs and would forever change the economic model of college sports. Update: That didn't happen. In fact, three years later, athletic departments are spending — and earning — more than ever, Sportico reports. By the numbers: Sportico analyzed the financials of 63 public FBS schools, comparing their spending in 2021-22 to 2018-19, the last full pre-pandemic school year. - 2018-19: $86M in expenses; $74M in generated revenue
- 2019-20: $84M in expenses; $75M in generated revenue
- 2020-21: $73M in expenses; $52M in generated revenue
- 2021-22: $93M in expenses; $81M in generated revenue
Full report. | | | | | | | | 6. 🏀 Another night, another upset |  | | | Photo: James Gilbert/Getty Images | | | | No. 2 Tennessee lost to Florida, 67-54, on Wednesday, which you should have seen coming if you've been following men's college basketball. The big picture: The Volunteers are the 10th AP top-2 school to lose this season, which is already the most ever in a single season and we're just two days into February. ICYMI: We wrote about college basketball's season of chaos earlier this week. Elsewhere... | | | | | | | | 7. 📺 Watchlist: Going streaking | | Giphy Two men's college basketball teams will put best-in-the-nation streaks to the test tonight. - No. 19 Florida Atlantic at UAB (7pm ET, CBSSN): FAU has won 20 straight games since its 1-1 start, the longest active winning streak in the nation.
- Washington at No. 9 UCLA (9pm, FS1): UCLA has won 19 straight games at Pauley Pavilion dating back to last season, the longest active home winning streak in the nation.
More to watch: | | | | | | | | 8. 🏁 The Ocho: Red Bull Ice Scramble | | Photo: Ryan Taylor/Red Bull Content Pool The second annual Red Bull Ice Scramble took place last weekend on Iowa's Okoboji Lake, frozen over in temperatures well below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, Jeff writes. Photo: Ryan Taylor/Red Bull Content Pool Over 1,000 spectators watched as more than 50 competitors raced UTVs around a one-mile course featuring tight-corner drifting, bumps and jumps. Photo: Ryan Taylor/Red Bull Content Pool This was the first of eight races in the Red Bull Scramble Series National Championship, which features similar events on a variety of terrain like sand, snow and backcountry woods. 🎥 Watch: See the course from the perspective of a driver (Red Bull) | | | | | | | | 9. 🏈 NFL trivia |  | | | Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images | | | | Tom Brady is one of two QBs to win the Super Bowl in his first season with a team (Buccaneers, 2020). - Question: Who's the other?
- Hint: 2000-01 season.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 🚫 1 banned thing: Wall rides |  | | | Photo: Stacy Revere/Getty Images | | | | Remember the viral wall-ride move that Ross Chastain used to win the NASCAR championship finale? It has been banned for safety reasons. | | | | | | | | A message from Wondrium | | Explore the world — anytime, anywhere | | |  | | | | Learn anything about everything with expert-led courses, documentaries and other immersive educational adventures. Here's how: From history to cooking to business, discover more about the world from your favorite device. Start with a 14-day free trial — then save 50% off your first 3 months. | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "I miss Ichiro" Baker Trivia answer: Trent Dilfer (Ravens) 🙏 Have the best day! Follow us for more (@kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy). Friends can sign up here. Thanks to Carolyn DiPaolo for copy edits. |  | | Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters.
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