Tom Brady is once again the man of the hour around the NFL. This time, it has nothing to do with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers reaching the Super Bowl or any of the countless accolades he’s put together throughout his career.
On the contrary, the game of football is entering nearly uncharted territory. For the first time since he entered the league, people are talking about Brady’s retirement as a very realpossibility.
The 44-year-old gunslinger often talked about his desire to play until 45 and his two-year deal with the Buccaneers has just come to an end. Moreover, not even he knows whether he’ll come back next season or not.
Tom Brady Says There’s No Rush To Make A Decision
“I think the point is there’s no really rush for me to figure out what’s next,” Brady said on his ‘Let’s Go!’ Podcast, per ProFootballTalk. “You know, I’ll know when I know. It’s a day after the season. So I think for all of us, you know, we can all decompress a bit. It’s been six straight months of football, every day consumed by day in and day out football. And I think now it’s just some time to spend some time with my family and spend some time with my kids.”
Brady’s Wife Will Have A Say In His Decision
Brady’s wife Gisele Bundchen and his family will carry a lot of weight on what he decides to do. Even though he can still perform at the highest level, he’s often talked about how his family will demand him more time and attention as the years go by:
“My wife is my biggest supporter,” Brady added. “It pains her to see me get hit out there. And she deserves what she needs from me as a husband and my kids deserve what they need from me as a dad. And I’m gonna spend some time with them and give them what they need, ‘cause they’ve really been giving me what I need the last six months to do what I love to do. I said this a few years ago, it’s what relationships are all about. It’s not always what I want. It’s what we want as a family. And I’m gonna spend a lot of time with them and figure out in the future what’s next.”
He Doesn’t Want A Farewell Tour
Brady also claimed that, even if he comes back, he would never want a farewell tour or an NFL season to be all about him and his retirement. Even so, that seems inevitable at this point given his fame and legacy:
“I think that would be distracting for me,” the legendary QB admitted.“I’m really an ultimate, my enjoyment comes from not a recognition of kind of what I’ve accomplished as a player in the league. My enjoyment comes from the competition. Moreso than anything, even yesterday, I was thinking about competing. I was thinking about, this whole year, about competing. I wasn’t thinking about anything other than that. So when the time comes to think about post career and second career I’ll think about those things. It’s just when you’re 44, I guess you get asked about that a lot. And a lot of people thought I was done playing football in 2015. A lot of people in 2016 said, ‘You’re done.’ A lot of people in 2018, and when I left the Patriots, they said, ‘You’re done.’”
We never want to see legends walking away from the game, especially when they still have a lot left in the tank. But Brady has paid his dues and earned his right to do whatever he pleases. If this it’s a goodbye, then thanks and good luck. But hopefully, it isn’t.
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