Just when the NFL was thinking Tom Brady was nearing the end of the road, the journey was extended… again.
Brady, 43, had everyone thinking around the time he turns 45 years old he would finally hang ’em up. But not so fast.
As Brady and the Bucs prep for Super Bowl LV vs. the Chiefs on Sunday, the QB was asked if maybe reaching the highest summit in the NFL again this year would push his target age for retirement back.
Bad news for everyone else ensued.
“Yeah definitely. I would definitely consider that,” Brady said via video conference on Monday. “It’s a physical sport, and just the perspective I have on that is you never know when that [final] moment is. Just because it’s a contact sport. There is a lot of training that goes into it. It has to be a 100-percent commitment from myself to doing it.”
“I think I’ll know when it’s time,” Brady added. “I don’t know when that time will come, but I think I’ll know. I’ll understand that I gave everything I could to get to this game. You put a lot into it. I don’t think I can ever go at this game half-assed.”
Naturally after leading his team to at least a NFC Championship this year, the Bucs will probably allow him to stick around, too. Tampa head coach Bruce Arians recently commented to NBC Sports’ Peter King that he’s so confident in Brady that he lets the QB lead the way in practice often. That certainly sounds like someone who’d welcome Brady back for the foreseeable future.
“Consummate leader. Has been all year. Got the air of confidence that permeates through our team every day. I allow him to be himself. Like, New England didn’t allow him to coach. I allow him to coach. I just sit back sometimes and watch,” Arians said.
On the verge of fighting for a seventh Super Bowl title, Brady put together a strong 2020, statistically speaking. Brady had 4,633 passing yards, the most he’s put up in a single-season since 2015, with 40 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
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