Now we can all get on with our lives, right?

Yes, Tom Brady has retired again, but this time it counts. Exactly a year after he did it the first time, Brady had a short retirement message in a selfie video shot on the beach that may or may not have been done Wednesday morning when it was released.

While part of you wants to see him play at least one more year and go out a winner, the other part tells you it was the right call. This past season was simply a mess, Brady’s personal life seemed to unravel, he lost weight, his play was good but not consistent enough or great enough, and basically the team the Tampa Bay Bucaneers surrounded him with stunk. But taking the time off during training camp, then leaving to attend former Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s Friday night wedding and then berating his offensive line in that weekend’s game were just not good looks.

It just seemed like the end was near, which was a shame.

The time for Brady to retire was probably after his first season in Tampa with that Super Bowl win, but the temptation to really prove something by running it back was too tempting. But with that Super Bowl title, Brady and the Bucs caught lightning in a bottle because you may forget they were struggling at 7-5 before they won out.

The first hint it was the end was when Brady’s parents were waiting for him at the entrance to the tunnel after the Wild Card playoff loss to the Cowboys. It’s the right time to do it, so that it doesn’t detract from the Super Bowl and also teams can make their plans, but you can bet they’re probably scrambling in Las Vegas, Miami and San Francisco.

Perhaps that’s one of the reasons, besides the ability to spend more time with his kids as they get older, that Brady felt it was time. There were reports yesterday that he was either going to re-sign with Tampa (ugh) or retire, not pursue anything with any other team. The guess here is he simply didn’t have it in him to get all fired up to start enthusiasticaly over again with another team like he charged into Tampa, barging into what he mistakenly thought was then-Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich’s home. Oops.

Ah, this was usually the week we would be making all the plans to travel to wherever Brady and the Patriots were playing in the Super Bowl. We went through all of those great memories a year ago, no need to do it again. They were fun times for playes, fans, and media alike.

And the probably won’t be seen around here again, right? Oh sure, the Patriots could get back to the Super Bowl at some point, but it doesn’t seem imminent and it certainly won’t be at the rate of nine times in 19 seasons. We may never see any NFL team do that again, but who knows?

The interesting thing now is Brady’s future, specifically that mega deal he signed with FOX to be their lead analyst. Funny, but we don’t see the QB who was always careful with his words to suddenly change and be critical in the booth. But the worst part about it is FOX’s current lead analyst, Greg Olsen, has done far more than just keep the seat warm for TB12. He may not be quite as good as Chris Collinsworth, but his simplistic way of explaining things makes him far better than the babbling Tony Romo, who has simply lost his way. Of couse, this is all subjective, but there’s probably a good chunk of you that agree.

Yes, Wednesday was a sad day in a way, but a day also to celebrate a great career, the likes of which will remain cemented in time at the top.

Of all the calls Tom Brady made when he got to the line of scrimmage, this one was the smartest one yet.

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on twitter @Telegraph _TomK.