Despite reports that he is retiring, Tom Brady has told the Tampa Bay Buccaneers he hasn’t made up his mind, two people familiar with the details told the Associated Press.
ESPN first reported Brady’s retirement on Saturday, citing unidentified sources. Brady’s health and wellness company posted a tweet indicating he’s retiring, and reaction came from around the world congratulating Brady on his career. But the tweet was later deleted, and Brady’s agent, Don Yee, said the 44-year-old quarterback would be the only person to accurately express his future.
Brady called Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht to say he has not made a decision, according to two people who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the conversations.
Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion and the NFL’s career leader in numerous passing categories, is under contract for 2022, but he has cited a desire to spend more time with his wife, supermodel Gisele Bundchen, and three children despite still playing at the top of his game.
After ESPN’s report, TB12sports Twitter account wrote: “7 Super Bowl Rings. 5 Super Bowl MVPs. 3 League MVP Awards. 22 Incredible Seasons. Thank you for it all, @TomBrady”
That post was removed, and Yee released this statement: “I understand the advance speculation about Tom’s future. Without getting into the accuracy or inaccuracy of what’s being reported, Tom will be the only person to express his plans with complete accuracy. He knows the realities of the football business and planning calendar as well as anybody, so that should be soon.”
ESPN and NFL.com later reported that Brady plans to announce his retirement at some point after the Super Bowl in February, and that Saturday’s tweet had most likely been sent in error.
Brady led the NFL in yards passing (5,316), touchdowns (43), completions (485) and attempts (719), but the Buccaneers lost at home to the Los Angeles Rams last Sunday in the divisional round.
Brady won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots in 20 seasons playing for coach Bill Belichick. He joined the Buccaneers in 2020 and led them to the second Super Bowl title in franchise history.
Brady would leave the sport as the career leader in yards passing (84,520) and TDs (624). He’s the only player to win more than five Super Bowls and was MVP of the game five times.
Widely considered the greatest quarterback to play the game, Brady won three NFL MVP awards, was a first-team All-Pro three times and was selected to the Pro Bowl 15 times. He was 243-73 in his career in the regular season and 35-12 in the playoffs.
Overlooked by every team coming out of Michigan, Brady was eventually selected by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL draft with the 199th overall pick. He replaced an injured Drew Bledsoe as the starter in 2001 and led New England to a Super Bowl victory over the heavily favored Rams that season.
Brady went on to lead the Patriots to Super Bowl victories over the Panthers following the 2003 season and Eagles after the 2004 season. No team has since repeated as champions.
But New England wouldn’t win another one for a decade, twice losing to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl, including a 17-14 defeat on 3 February 2008, that prevented the Patriots from completing a perfect season.
Brady earned his fourth ring when the Patriots held off Seattle thanks to Malcolm Butler’s interception at the goal line in the Super Bowl after the 2014 season.
Two years later, in the biggest Super Bowl comeback, he led the Patriots out of a 28-3 deficit in the third quarter against Atlanta to win in overtime.
After losing to the Eagles and backup quarterback Nick Foles the following year, Brady got his sixth championship when New England shut down the Rams following the 2018 season.
He joined the Buccaneers in 2020 amid a pandemic, instilling a winning culture for a franchise that hadn’t won a playoff game in 18 years. With his old friend Rob Gronkowski joining him in Tampa, Brady helped the Buccaneers become the first team to play in a Super Bowl in its stadium. Naturally, Brady won again.
Brady threw more touchdown passes in his 40s (168) than in his 20s (147).
In the 20 seasons he finished as starter, Brady reached the playoffs 19 times, won 18 division titles, went 10-4 in conference championships and 7-3 in Super Bowls. He played in the conference championship eight times in his last 10 years.
Since starting his first game on 30 September 2001, Brady was under center for every game except when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 1 in 2008 and the first four games in 2016 when he sat out a suspension because of the deflated footballs scandal.
After leaving New England, the stoic Belichick and Patriot Way, Brady’s personality shined in the Florida sun. He was personable, engaging and entertaining, and he displayed his wit on social media while promoting his brands.
During the Buccaneers’ victory celebration, Brady, perhaps a bit inebriated, chucked the Lombardi Trophy from one boat to tight end Cameron Brate on another.
Known for his work ethic, intense exercise and nutrition regimen, Brady found a funny way to congratulate Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on his retirement earlier this week.
Brady wrote: “Ben defied the TB12 Method in favor of the “Throw Some Ice On It” method his whole career, and ended up an all-time-great with 6 Pro-Bowls and 2 Super Bowls. There’s more than one way to bake a cake!”
