Getty Tom Brady and Josh Allen embrace after a 2018 game.
Tom Brady was an on-field rival to Josh Allen during his career, but showed some love for the Buffalo Bills quarterback as he announced his retirement.
Brady announced on February 1 that he was calling it quits, permanently walking away from football exactly one year after announcing what would become a short-lived retirement. He broke the news in a video posted online, then took to Instagram to share some memories of his 22-year career — including one of the Bills’ quarterback.
Tom Brady Recalls Game Against Allen
Not long after posting his retirement announcement, Brady went on a bit of a nostalgia kick in his Instagram stories, sharing pictures from across his career. This included some of the many great quarterbacks he faced across the different eras in which he played. The images showed fellow retirees like Peyton Manning and Drew Brees along with some of the younger stars of the league, like Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Allen.
The now-former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback posted an image of himself embracing the Bills quarterback after a December 2018 game, the end of Allen’s rookie season.
While the two played some memorable games, the rivalry was entirely one-sided. Brady won all five of his meetings with Allen, four with the New England Patriots and one with the Buccaneers.
Brady gave hints that he was considering retirement, giving a goodbye of sorts after the Buccaneers lost to the Dallas Cowboys in the Super Wild Card round.
“I just want to say thank you to you guys for everything this year. I really appreciate all your effort. I know it’s hard for you guys (the media), too. It’s hard for us as players to make it through (the season), and you guys have a tough job,” Brady said. “I appreciate all that you guys do to cover us and everyone who watches and is a big fan of the sport. We’re very grateful for everyone’s support.”
Allen in a January appearance on Kyle Brandt’s Basement that he thought Brady’s press conference sounded a “little too sentimental” for his liking and that he never trusted Brady’s first retirement announcement.
“The way that [Brady] talked in his press conference last night… it seemed a little too sentimental for my liking in terms of holding onto the belief that he’s going to continue to play.”
@JoshAllenQB on whether he thinks Tom Brady will retire.
“I don’t know. When it happened last year and he retired, I told people ‘I’ll believe it when he’s not playing the first game,’” Allen said.
“But the way he talked in his press conference last night — it seemed a little too sentimental for my liking in terms of holding on to the belief that he’s going to continue to play. But we’ll see.”
Another Chapter to the Allen-Brady Rivalry
Though Buffalo’s overtime loss to the Buccaneers in the 2021 season would be the last time Allen and Brady met on the field, the two forged a rivalry in another sport the following summer. They were selected to compete in The Match, a nationally televised golf match that paired Allen with Mahomes and Brady with Aaron Rodgers.
The two quarterbacks engaged in some trash talking before the game, with Allen saying Brady was by far the worst of the four. Brady then reminded Allen of their lifetime record.
“Love this confidence after moving to 0-5 all time head to head,” Brady tweeted. “This is why Josh will succeed in this league!”