(Reuters) - Tom Brady's surprising decision to leave the New England Patriots last month for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was rooted in a need to seek out new challenges, the 42-year-old quarterback wrote in an essay on Monday.
Brady spent 20 seasons with the Patriots, winning an NFL record six Super Bowls to become arguably the best to ever play the position.
But despite that success, he said he wanted to "do things that have never been done in my sport".
"Changes and challenges are part of life," Brady wrote in a heartfelt, 2,600-word piece in the Players' Tribune.