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Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady shocked the world when he retired from the NFL shortly after the Super Bowl finished. But, it didn't last long as he ultimately returned for a 24th season at the age of 44.
On Wednesday after TNT's The Match, Brady revealed that he did feel pressure to play again because of NFL Free Agency. Via ESPN:
“At this stage, it's like 55% yes and 45% no. It's not 100-0. That's just the reality,” Brady said. “It's not that I'm not 100% committed, it's just as soon as I make the commitment to do it, it's like ‘Ugh. All right, here we go.' It's like running a marathon. You can't decide two weeks before the marathon, ‘Hey, I'm going to start running.' We got right to free agency and I felt some pressure to do it and talked to the Buccaneers and organization, and it all worked out.”
Brady also dropped a truth bomb on if he was actually ready to hang them up or not:
Partly, you know, yes,” said Brady, who will turn 45 in August. “And I think when you're their [Mahomes and Allen's] age, if you were to ask me, ‘Are you going to play football next year?' I would say there's a 100% chance I'm playing. And I think as I've gotten older, that's changed because I have other responsibilities.”
The Buccaneers signal-caller said that family played a huge part in his decision to initially retire but he still had a burning desire to compete at the highest level. It's not like Brady is washed up, either. He's an absolute stud in the pocket even at 44 and it was only 18 months ago that TB12 led Tampa to the Super Bowl.
Tom Brady becomes an unrestricted free agent after 2022. It's unknown if he'll keep playing beyond next season.
