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Nationals honor Tom Brady as he was the last active draft pick in Expos history before retiring from NFL

By Chris Cerullo

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February 3, 2023 3:10 pm

Legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady announced his retirement from professional football on Wednesday after a 23-year career. He retires as a winner of seven Super Bowls, a five-time Super Bowl MVP, and the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards (89,214) and touchdowns (649).

Before all of the football fame, Brady was a multi-sport athlete playing both football and baseball at Junipero Serra High School in California. The then 18-year-old future Patriot and Buccaneer was good enough with a bat and glove to be drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 18th round of the 1995 MLB Draft.

With his 2023 retirement, Brady will go down as the last active professional athlete to be drafted by Montreal. The Expos moved to Washington, DC and became the Nationals in 2005.

The last before Brady was Nats shortstop Ian Desmond, who was drafted by the Expos in 2004. Desmond retired from professional baseball in April of 2022 after opting out of the previous two seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brady let the world know of his decision, for the second time after coming out of retirement previously, with his personal Instagram account.

The Nationals sent out a congratulatory message to Brady on Wednesday featuring his name and customary number 12 on a mock Expos jersey.

However, the veracity of the claim that Brady was the last active pro athlete drafted by the Expos did get somewhat drawn into question. Both Daryl Thompson (2003 MLB Draft) and Brandon Phillips (1999 MLB Draft) are technically still active in professional, independent baseball leagues.

Thompson recently re-signed with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Atlantic League, returning for his 11th season with the team and his fourth season as player-coach.

Phillips has not yet announced any sort of retirement and he played last season for the Lexington Legends in the Atlantic League as an owner-coach of the team.

Headline graphic via @nationals/Twitter & @tombrady/Instagram

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