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Tom Brady Is the GOAT to Many Americans. Elsewhere He's Just Some Guy

  • Tom Brady retires with few followers versus other sports stars
  • As the NFL looks to expand overseas, does star power matter?
Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during a game in Sept. 2022.
Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during a game in Sept. 2022.Photographer: Chris Graythen/Getty Images

News of Tom Brady’s second retirement is everywhere in the US – it shot to the top of Twitter’s trending list in minutes. Internationally, there’s more competition.

One reason is his social media following. Brady, an avid social media user, announced his retirement on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to about 21 million followers. That same message from football’s Cristiano Ronaldo would have gone out to more than 38 times that, 810 million, across those three networks.