"I’ll get to the point right away. I’m retiring. For good," said Brady in a social media post before thanking people who "allowed me to live my absolute dream."
"I know the process was a pretty big deal last time so when I woke up this morning I just pressed record and let you guys know first.
"I won't be long-winded you only get one super emotional retirement essay and I used mine up last year."
Brady, one of the most decorated players of all time, won record-breaking seven Super Bowls during his career spanning 23 seasons.
He spent 19 of those seasons with the New England Patriots before moving to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Brady originally retired last year before eventually playing another season. That ended up being his worst as a professional, as the Bucs went 8-9 and lost to the Dallas Cowboys in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
The northern California native is widely regarded as the best quarterback in league history. He appeared in a record 10 Super Bowls, winning the game seven times. He also won the Super Bowl MVP award five times and his 15 Pro Bowl selections are the most in league history. He was named the league's most-valuable player three times.
A lightly regarded prospect coming out of the University of Michigan, Brady was the 199th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft. But he made the most of his opportunities and quickly turned around the fortunes of the Patriots franchise. He would go on to build one of the greatest dynasties across any sport.
In October, halfway through the season, Brady announced that he and his wife, supermodel Gisele Bundchen, had ended their 13-year marriage. They have two children together.
Brady's commitment to continue playing was believed to be one of the wedges that drove the couple to divorce.
Bundchen had expressed worry over Brady's health playing in the often violent workplace that is the National Football League, conceding in an Elle magazine story that she had those discussions with her husband adding, "I would like him to be more present".
BROADCAST CAREER
Brady now appears headed to the television broadcast booth having already agreed to a reported 10-year $375 million contract to join FOX Sports as a lead analyst and ambassador for the network.
Coming ahead of Groundhog Day in the United States on Thursday, some on social media pointed out that they had heard this before.
There were a number of teams reportedly interested in signing the free agent future Hall of Famer for next season, including the Las Vegas Raiders, Tennessee Titans and Miami Dolphins.
While Brady appeared frustrated and weary at times throughout last season he still produced personally on the field leading the Buccaneers to the playoffs.
He passed for 4,694 yards, ranking him behind only Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl bound Patrick Mahomes and Los Angeles Chargers Justin Herbert and his 25 touchdown passes were among the top 10 in the league.
