John Riordan: Who's next to emulate retired Brady? Who knows?

With a wry smile, he acknowledged that he had expended his one opportunity to write a deep and meaningful essay a year ago. This version was sparser with a brief threat of tears. 

GOAT: Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady holds up the Vince Lombardi trophy after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL Super Bowl 55 football game, Feb. 7, 2021. Pic: AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File

And then he retired for the second time.

Tom Brady kept it simple on Wednesday morning, a short video message to his millions of Instagram followers confirming that now is the right time to finally walk away from a quarterback career which should always top-tier him as the best the NFL has ever produced.