Tom Brady announcing his retirement at the age of 44 seemed like a finality.
He’s a seven-time Super Bowl champion that is known as the greatest NFL player, due to a long list of accolades. Brady has practically every longstanding quarterback record and he’s won games at a rate that no player in league history ever has. What other accomplishments does he need at this point?
Brady is the first signal-caller since 1942 to lead the league in passing yards (5,316) and passing touchdowns (43) in their final season. He clearly is still capable of continuing his career, but his main reason for retirement comes down to his family and what they need from him. Is it possible that he, and his family, have a change of heart on retirement?
“You know, I’m just gonna take things as they come,” Brady said on his Let’s Go! podcast with Jim Gray. “I think that’s the best way to put it and I don’t think anything, you know, you never say never. At the same time I know that I’m very, I feel very good about my decision. I don’t know how I’ll feel six months from now. … But I try to make the best possible decision I can in the moment, which I did this last week.”
And, again, I think it’s not looking to reverse course, I’m definitely not looking to do that. But in the same time I think you have to be realistic that you never know what challenges there are gonna be in life. Again, I loved playing. I’m looking forward to doing things other than playing. That’s as honest as I can be with you there.”
He also went into depth about his reasonings for sticking with retirement.
“There are a lot of other people in the, you know, some players who don’t necessarily have to be all in for them,” he said. “I guess I’ve seen that quite a bit over the years, but I kind of, I’ve always felt for me that’s how I had to do it. And, you know, my teammates know that I give ’em everything I can. My coaches know that. And it’s certainly not that I can’t do that. And it’s certainly not that I can’t play or continue to play, but I think there’s an important choice for me to make, you know, and I think the choice is, everything certainly comes at a cost, and the cost is what am I missing out on other aspects of my life?
“And things that are, as you get older, you experience things that are outside of the sport that demand the level of attention and energy that football has always gotten. And it’s time for me to commit to those types of things. A lot of things have come up over the years in the last 10 years of my life as I’ve got closer to this decision this last week and it just in the end felt like it was just the right time to do it.”
I think for anyone who loves the sport like I have over the years it’ll always be in my heart, as it should be, because I’ve committed a lot of time and energy and hours to it. But at the same time, there’s a time and place for everything. I’ve had an amazing time and place doing it and I’m just, I am really excited for what’s ahead and I don’t know what that means or where it takes me, but I know that it’ll be fun and exciting and I’m gonna make the most of whatever opportunities present themselves as I go forward.”
Whatever he decides to do — he’ll still be the most accomplished and respected player in NFL history.
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