National Football League

Tom Brady, Michael Jordan and sports history's worst retirements

Updated Mar. 14, 2022 3:24 p.m. ET

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Tom Brady is back in the Bay — the Tampa version.

The seven-time Super Bowl champ Sunday announced his return to the Buccaneers after a brief retirement, but on Monday, Nick Wright wasn't impressed with Brady dominating the airwaves for the third time in as many months. 

"We thought Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson were attention-seekers," Wright said. "This guy has done nothing the last six weeks and has made himself the biggest story in sports three times."

Nick Wright's worst retirements in sports history I FIRST THINGS FIRST

Now that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have their quarterback back, Nick Wright reveals his list of the worst retirements in sports history.

And with that, inspired by Brady, Wright unveiled his list of the worst retirements in sports history Monday on "First Things First."

Let's see what Wright came up with:

5. Mark Henry

Retirement story: Mark Henry, a long-time veteran of the WWE circuit, stepped into the ring at a mid-summer edition of "Monday Night Raw" to announce his retirement and gave a heartfelt goodbye to his fans and competitors. 

But as John Cena raised Henry’s arm in celebration and chants of "one more fight" bellowed from the sold-out crowd in Grand Rapids, Henry ended his one-minute retirement and took Cena down with "The World’s Strongest Slam."

Wright's thoughts: "He announced his retirement and literally one minute later fought a guy. His retirement lasted one minute, then he [went after] John Cena."

4. Roger Clemens

Retirement story: Roger Clemens surprised absolutely nobody by returning to baseball with the Yankees in 2007. After all, the burly hurler had come out of retirement twice already in three seasons and enjoyed five successful seasons in the Bronx years earlier. However, the seemingly timeless Clemens — he won his seventh Cy Young award at age 41 — went out with a whimper, shocking many and disappointing hopeful Yankees fans. Clemens was limited to just 12 appearances in 2007 with the Bronx Bombers and surrendered a bloated 4.18 ERA, including a disastrous outing in the ALDS against Cleveland. 

Wright's thoughts: "'Oh my God. Roger Clemens is in George [Steinbrenner’s] box.' That one. ‘Oh my God, Roger Clemens is coming back as a Yankee.’ Yeah, to go 6-6 with a 4.2 ERA. That wasn't great."

3. Brett Favre

Retirement story: As Brett Favre tearfully got through his initial retirement speech following a dominant 4,000-yard passing season, he hardly looked like a man ready to give up football. So unsurprisingly, Favre had been talked back into the NFL by summer’s end, and after personal differences with Green Bay management, the Hall of Fame quarterback negotiated a trade to the New York Jets. However, Favre struggled in green and white, throwing for fewer than 3,500 yards for the first time in 15 years and tossing 22 interceptions. 

Wright's thoughts: "Will he? Won’t he? Will he? Won’t he? ‘This time, he’s really retiring.’ 'Actually, I'm a Jet.' A Jet?"

2. Michael Jordan

Retirement story: Michael Jordan entered his second retirement after his second-straight storybook ending, sinking the Jazz to win his third-straight NBA championship for a second time. But questions still swirled about whether M.J. could do it without the assistance of Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and the rest of the Chicago supporting cast. So after three years in retirement, Jordan returned to the league with the Wizards at age 38 in hopes of proving his legacy away from the Windy City. Jordan’s stint with Washington was unimpressive though, as Jordan shot 40% from the field in back-to-back, playoff-free seasons before a third and final retirement. 

Wright's thoughts: "Jordan finally had a chance to prove he could finish above .500 or win a single playoff series without Scottie and Phil [Jackson] and he's like, ‘No, I'm quitting,’ only to come back with the Wizards. That was a shame."

1. Tom Brady

Retirement story: Brady appeared to fall just short of his stated goal of playing until age 45 when he announced his retirement in February on Super Bowl weekend. But on Monday, Brady announced on Twitter that "his place is still on the field" and that he planned to run it back one more time with his Tampa teammates. 

Wright's thoughts: "He hijacked Super Bowl week on the front end. And on the back end, he announces coming back with five minutes left in KG’s [Kevin Garnett] retirement [speech]. Boston fans are there to celebrate KG. They're like, ‘Oh my god, Tommy’s back.' KG doesn't even get this moment."

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First Things First