Tom Brady will be 45 when the 2022 NFL season begins. Logic dictates that whenever he retires, whether it’s this year or down the road, it will be for good. At that age, it is hard seeing him pull a Brett Favre last minute mind change, or even a Michael Jordan comeback. However, CBS Sports’ Tony Romo thinks that exact scenario is on the table.
During an appearance on CBS Mornings with broadcast partner Jim Nantz, Romo floated an interesting Brady theory: he thinks a loss like the Buccaneers’ just had last weekend is exactly the type of game that could lead Brady to retirement. And he wouldn’t rule out a Jordan-esque comeback two years after—when Brady is in his late-40s.
“The Tom Brady one’s really interesting. I don’t know anything, no inside information. I don’t talk to Tom at all about this. This is kind of how I think he would retire,” Romo said. “Just knowing him a little bit, I’m like it's going to be quick, it's going to be, ‘What? Whoa! Boom!’ It's going to be a little bit of a shock. It's not going to be this fairy tale ending.
“I think when he wins it, I think he's opposite of what some people think. I think that's when he goes away, when he loses. Just because it's actually like, ‘Okay, when I win it I want to see if I can be the first one to win three in a row.’ There’s always another thing. Once you don’t have that ability, which I think is getting close here, I think this is how he walks away.”
Romo directly referenced Jordan’s first retirement, after winning three straight NBA titles with the Bulls, as well as the fact that Brady passed Jordan in total championships last year, winning his seventh Super Bowl (vs. six NBA titles for MJ).
“I think sneakily, there’s a chance that Tom Brady retires and may, I’m just saying, could comes back in two years. This is just crazy but he’s like a bionic man. If he is right, well he’s not hurt, he’s still playing great. He may need to refresh like Jordan, and go two years away, and maybe start another challenge. Because otherwise he has nothing else to prove.”
Brady gave perhaps his most direct indication ever that he could retire, after Tampa Bay’s loss last weekend.
“I said this a few years ago, it’s what relationships are all about. It’s not always what I want,” the legendary quarterback said, per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “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.”
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