NFL teams
Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff Writer 5y

Brady fakes retirement after joining Twitter

NFL, New England Patriots

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has officially joined Twitter, according to a company spokesman, and it isn't a coincidence that it came on April Fools' Day.

Brady "announced" that he is retiring, and that in his spare time he will be tweeting.

This is, indeed, a joke, according to those close to Brady.

He confirmed as much with a follow-up tweet.

But in a reflection of Brady's still-growing popularity, the tweet posted at 12:19 p.m. ET had surpassed 20,000 "likes" within the first 30 minutes. Brady picked up more than 34,000 followers in that span -- a quick-strike offense that he is accustomed to being part of on the field.

Brady, who turns 42 on Aug. 3, used a picture from the Patriots' Super Bowl parade as the header photo on his Twitter profile. The picture shows his back, as he is flanked by his daughter, Vivian, and son Benny, and lists the Roman numerals of the six Super Bowl championships he helped the Patriots win.

Brady's right index finger is lifted in the air in the picture.

Brady enters his 20th NFL season in 2019, all spent with the Patriots.

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