It's barely been a week since Tom Brady officially announced his retirement from the NFL after an illustrious 22-year career. It came as a shock for many of us, but we've slowly grown to accept the reality that we will never see the GOAT take the field in the NFL ever again.
Then, all of a sudden, Tom Brady comes out with some mind-blowing comments about his potential return.
In the most recent episode of the Let's Go! With Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray podcast, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers superstar himself noted the possibility of unretiring. Brady did not explicitly say that he intends to return, but the way he described his recent decision seems to hint at this shocking prospect:
“I'm just gonna take things as they come,” Brady said when asked if he would entertain thoughts of coming back, via Grant Gordon of NFL.com. “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.
“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.”
A simple no would have sufficed, especially since our wounds have begun the process of healing. However, Brady has teased us with an absolute bombshell here. The fact that he uttered the words, “you never say never,” is enough to send any football fan fantasizing about the GOAT's sensational comeback. Michael Jordan did it — twice — so why not Tom Brady?
If there's one thing we can say for sure based on what we saw from him this season is that the seven-time Super Bowl champion still has it. Brady had one of his best campaigns as a pro this past season and it is clear that he still has a lot of gas left in the tank. If he does return — perhaps in the 2023 season — then it would only be logical to assume that he can still play at an elite level.
For now, however, Brady is going to be focusing on life after football. The 44-year-old shed some light on his decision to hang it up as he expressed how he envisions the next few months/years in his life now that he no longer has any commitments on the football field:
“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?,” Brady said. “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.”
What we all need to keep in mind is that it's not as if Brady is going cold turkey. I can imagine the New England Patriots icon taking a bit of a break from the public eye for maybe a few months, but it shouldn't be long before he lands his next job. With his podcast, Brady has already laid the foundations of a potential career as an analyst or a commentator and in truth, this would be a great next step for him career-wise. Every single football fan would love to hear what the great Tom Brady has to say and I'm pretty sure the networks will be lining up to offer him massive deals for a broadcasting job. For us fans, this only means we will still get to see TB on television, which is absolutely awesome.
Finally, Brady spoke about the multitude of congratulatory messages he received after his retirement announcement. He will not be able to go through every single one of them, but Tom just wants to say that he's grateful for all of them:
“I'm just very humbled by everything,” he said. “I guess I've been around a lot of people over the years because I had a lot of people reach out to me and in different variations and forms. I'm grateful for all the amazing relationships that I've had. What it means to me is I've impacted people's lives and certainly they've impacted mine, too. So whether those were teammates of mine or competitors of mine there was so much mutual respect. … I've taken so much from the sport and I'm glad so many people enjoyed watching me play over the years. Believe me, I loved playing more than they loved watching me. So for as many people that loved watching me play, I enjoyed playing the game and being in there much more than people actually enjoyed watching me play.”
It's officially over for Tom Brady. He did hint at a possible return, but in truth, the odds of the GOAT never playing again are pretty good. He left it all on the field for more than two decades and it is clear that he holds no regret.
Thank you for everything, Tom Brady. You are a living legend.
Follow Us
Subscribe