Steve DeBerg holds the NFL record for the oldest quarterback ever to start a regular-season game. DeBerg was 44 years, 279 days old when he started for the Falcons against the Jets on Oct. 25, 1998.
DeBerg’s record, though, isn’t expected to stand more than another season.
Tom Brady turns 44 in August and has said he expects to play through the 2022 season when his contract expires. Brady’s personal trainer, Alex Guerrero, said on The Adam Schefter Podcast this week that two more seasons is his expectation for Brady as well.
“I think the biggest accomplishment from me will come probably if we make it through age 45 because that’s what his goal was,” Guerrero told Schefter, via Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald. “That will probably be the proudest moment for me, to say, ‘Hey, we actually did it.’ I know from my perspective that I want to honor my promise to him in helping him with his goal. If his goal changes, no problem. If he says, ‘Hey, I think I’m going to call it a day,’ then great. No problem. I will 100 percent support that.
“But in my mind, I’m trying to prepare him to be able to do that. I thought about this year two years ago. I try to keep his body three years ahead of where we’re going to be. I’m thinking about not just next year, but, ‘What if he feels so good at 45 he wants to play to 46?’ I don’t know, so I’d better plan. I better plan to think about how I need to get his body prepared for 46 or 47. I don’t know.”
Guerrero, Brady’s business partner at TB12, said he’s not “super strict” about Brady’s plant-based diet.
“We’re not like that,” Guerrero said. “We’re very balanced. We do things to kind of help our body stay in balance all the time. So if we feel the need to heat up a pizza and eat a pizza, we’re going to do it. If he needs to have a cheeseburger, we’re going to do it.”