Over the previous few seasons, Tom Brady has received numerous inquiries about his NFL retirement, with each postseason serving as a new opportunity for him to answer the question.
After the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were eliminated from the playoffs following a 31-14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the 45-year-old quarterback had to remind supporters that he would be “taking it one day at a time.”
Many people believed that this was the end of the road for Brady as he took the time to thank reporters at a news conference following the Cowboys game and was photographed kissing his parents as he departed the field.
Despite this, there are still persistent whispers that Brady might return to Tampa Bay for one more season. The storied quarterback is scheduled to become a free agent in March, and it has been suggested that the Las Vegas Raiders may try to negotiate a contract with Brady.
When Brady was still with the New England Patriots in 2019, he was questioned about whether he could play into his late 40s.
Brady signed with the Buccaneers the next year. While some believed he would soon declare his retirement, he had other plans and led the Buccaneers to victory for his seventh championship, becoming him the oldest quarterback to win the Super Bowl.
By February 2021, Brady suggested that he would know when it was time to hang up his cleats, saying during a pre-Super Bowl press conference: “I think I’ll know when it’s time. I can never go into this game half-ass.”
Asked if he would play past the age of 45, Brady replied: “Yeah, definitely. It’s a physical sport, and the perspective I have on that is—you never know.”
Following the 2021 Super Bowl victory, Brady claimed that his then-wife, Gisele Bündchen, posed a query that caused him to consider his future in football.
During a guest appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden, Brady disclosed: “I suddenly recognized my wife and gave her a great hug. She asked, “What more do you have to prove?” as soon as I finished.”
In September of that year, Brady spoke out again on why he should keep playing and why he shouldn’t wait too long to retire, arguing that supermodel Gisele Bündchen deserved to have her day in the spotlight.”I think my wife has, you know, held down the house for a long time now, and I think there are things that she wants to accomplish,” Brady said on his Let’s Go podcast. “You know, she hasn’t worked as much in the last 10, 12 years just raising our family and kind of committing to being in a life in Boston and then moving to Florida.”
