Tom Brady: Can I play until I’m 50? I think it’s a yes

NFL: SEP 09 Cowboys at Buccaneers
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Tom Brady is under contract with the Buccaneers through the 2023 season, but he’s already given signs that he’s thinking about being in Tampa beyond that point.

Brady turned 44 this year, so pushing past 2023 would make his 50th birthday the next big milestone to reach as an active player. In a video Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski filmed for the team’s website, Gronkowski asked Brady if he can play into another decade.

“Wow. Seems to be a really hot question lately,” Brady said. “Can Tom Brady play ’til 50? Like, 50 years old? . . . I don’t find it so difficult. Plus, in Florida, it’s kind of a retiree state, so I feel like I can play and then just glide into retirement. I think I can. I think it’s a yes.”

Gronkowski went on to ask if Brady’s wife Gisele Bundchen would let him play until that point. Brady joked that is a “way better question” before saying he thinks she would as long as it would make him happy. Brady seems to continue to derive a lot of joy from being on the field, so there’s little reason to expect him to leave it anytime soon.

68 responses to “Tom Brady: Can I play until I’m 50? I think it’s a yes

  1. This is laughable – not sure why we get sucked into this every year. Not a chance he plays till 50…as soon as he gets a concussion…and/or an injury…and the healing time is 2x that of a 25 yo player – he’ll realize…he’s in trouble.

  2. I imagine his knees will decide for him. That said, the dude clearly knows how to take care of himself.

  3. I always thought after the superbowl vs the Falcons it was a perfect time to retire … I wasn’t even close.

  4. So in his career he’s played in the super bowl 1/2 the time, and won more than half of those. Toe rings coming next?

  5. Norseman says:
    September 16, 2021 at 2:18 pm
    Sadly, his career will probably end with an injury.

    ————————————–

    You must be a hoot at dinner parties.

  6. duane0621 says:
    September 16, 2021 at 2:22 pm
    This is laughable – not sure why we get sucked into this every year. Not a chance he plays till 50…as soon as he gets a concussion…and/or an injury…and the healing time is 2x that of a 25 yo player – he’ll realize…he’s in trouble.

    ___

    People been saying this for 10 years and Brady keeps proving them wrong

  7. People thought Brady couldnt play at a high level at 45 and here we are. 50 year old Brady throwing for 45 TDs isnt so far fetched anymore.

  8. If ever an NFL QB could play at 50 and still be better then average, it would be one TOM BRADY.
    #ENIGMA

  9. He’s one clean hit away from his career ending. Bones are more brittle and recovery time takes longer.

  10. Players never lasted that long back before the league started protecting QB’s. Some of the cheap shots and blows to be head in the 80’s and 90’s were unreal. League finally got smart when the started paying players huge sums of money the had to protect their investments.

  11. If people want Brady to quit, they should petition her little girl to ask him to quit. Like Brady said she can’t say no to her and she owns his life. Daddy’s Little Girl Power.

  12. Can he vs will he is the key here. God willing he never gets injured I’d love to see if he could physically keep up with the NFL grind to age 50 but with his off the field ventures/businesses as well as his wife and kids to think about will be the main deciding factor on how much longer he plays.

  13. Just because he can doesn’t mean I need to constantly hear about it!

    There are other players in the league.. younger ones who need to be ushered along, mentored and receive just a smidgen of the limelight Brady wants to hog!

    It’s time to make this bigger than Brady! Enough!

  14. Funny Rodgers is 37 almost 38 and looks 40. He has aged a lot in the past year. He will not make it to 40 in the NFL. Brady he aint

  15. Thing about Brady is he is an outlier, physically and mentally. But his narcissism will be his undoing. His hubris will convince him that he exists outside the dilutes that have governed tens of thousands of other professional football players. The moment there is weakness in him, he will be injured, amd injured badly, and everyone(including him) will ask why he didn’t quit before this happened. There is a life outside football, amd that life for him very well could be as long as rhe life he has lived so far. What the quality of that life will be remains to be seen. But there is the possibility, that like Muhammad Ali(who also didn’t know when to stop) the second half of his life could very well be a cautionary tale

  16. This is uncharted territory for an elite athlete to play this well in his mid 40s. But I could see him try to hang on for 3 more seasons after this one. That would give him 20 in NE and 5 in TB and a quarter century of being in the way of countless other team’s championship hopes.

  17. Norseman says:
    September 16, 2021 at 2:18 pm
    Sadly, his career will probably end with an injury.
    ——————-
    maybe, but I’d bet against it. One of the things Brady (as did Manning) does best is “go down” when he’s about to be sacked. Drives me crazy to see a QB struggling to stay upright when there’s 2 300lb defenders taking them down.

  18. Even the most die-hard Packers fans know that Tom Brady is what he is. There’s never been a QB that was ever expected to be what Brady is. Not even close. Who in their right minds would predict his career. There’s never been a #1 pick QB or otherwise that would be expected to do what Brady did.

    ———————————–
    dlw492 says:
    September 16, 2021 at 2:25 pm

    Tom Brady is what Brett Favre & Aaron Rodgers were supposed to be (career wise)

  19. Why doubt him at this point?

    He originally said he wanted to play until 45 in May 2017….lots of folks said “no way” he will fall apart. He was “only” 39 then. Here we are 4+ seasons later and he still looks good. I think 45 is going to happen. He is in a great situation in Tampa surrounded by a lot of excellent players.

    I think its great, we are seeing something we probably wont see again.

  20. Tom Brady is what Brett Favre & Aaron Rodgers were supposed to be (career wise)
    ==========

    Maybe if Favre had been paired with Holmgren (MUCH) longer

    Maybe if Rodgers wasn’t paired with McCarthy

  21. No NFL defensive players wants to tackle a 45 -50 year old QB . The defensive player would be reprimanded immediately if they did that . In that case , Tom can play until he’s 62.

  22. You can tell by watching the games that defensive players are specifically ordered by Goodell to not touch brady. Meanwhile players like Brees got hammered last year. It is clear what is going on. No defensive player is allowed to touch him and it’s been a strict order by the league. It is truly a pathetic rigged display

  23. kayes says:
    September 16, 2021 at 2:47 pm

    People thought Brady couldnt play at a high level at 45 and here we are. 50 year old Brady throwing for 45 TDs isnt so far fetched anymore.

    ————————————————————

    Brady has thrown more than 40 TD’s once in his career, in 2007.

  24. Insert meme of Captain Kirk screaming “Braaaaadddddyyyyyyy!” instead of “Khhhaaaaannn!”

    That’s pretty much how the rest of the league feels about him playing that much longer, cause he won’t keep playing unless he’s still kickin’ ass.

  25. Brady is a winner because he’s a great leader. He’ll announce his retirement only after he’s played his last game. He’s not going to do anything to cause a distraction, and put his team at a disadvantage. That’s part of being a great leader. When he was 40 he said he’d retire at 45. When he’s approaching 45, he’s saying it will be 50.

  26. Brady can play indefinitely–IF he has a good team around him, especially O-line and receivers. We’ll have to see what happens with the Tampa Bay personnel after the 2022 season. At his age, he’s not going to stick around a team if it doesn’t have what he needs to succeed, and I’m not sure he’ll want to go to another team if Tampa Bay loses the guys he needs.

  27. Alot of it might also be tied to however long Bruce Arians wants to coach, and the Buccaneers can afford to keep that good starting cast around him

  28. So, what’s the Vegas line on when he will retire. I don’t gamble much, but if there isn’t a bet yet. There should be. I’m in.

  29. “Players never lasted that long back before the league started protecting QB’s. Some of the cheap shots and blows to be head in the 80’s and 90’s were unreal”

    People forget that Brady took some monster shots early in his career, getting his helmet knocked off, tearing his acl, even recent years hes been flattened into the ground by the Broncos.

    Secondly, every other QB plays by the same rules as Brady. They’re more protected but he’s also managed to teach himself to throw the ball away to avoid hits. If it’s the era why are the brees and Manning’s of the league not doing it?

  30. Like many peoplei really don’t care about Brady or how long he plays. I don’t buy his goody goody facade and think in time he will be exposed as the
    Lance Armstrong of the NFL

  31. If you don’t appreciate Tom Brady you don’t appreciate competition. This guy has been awesome for 20 years. Never was the QB for my team, probably won’t ever be, but he’s the GOAT in any sport IMO.

    Football is the team dependent sport and he seems to elevate the 51 men around him. Only sore losers wouldn’t appreciate him.

  32. Brady has been in the league the same duration or number of seasons(21) as his two idols Joe Montana and Steve Young combined as 49ers(1979-1999).

    Brady as a Patriot started more games(283) than Montana(139) and Young(124) combined(263) as 49ers.

    Brady as a Patriot started more playoff games(41) than Montana(19) and Young(14) combined(33) as 49ers.

    Brady as a Patriot won more playoff games(30) than Montana(14) and Young(8) combined(22) as 49ers.

    Brady as a Patriot won more Super Bowls(6) than Montana(4) and Young(1) combined(5) as 49ers.

    Brady has accomplished more than two hall of fame quarterbacks combined.

    Brady is still not done. Amazing.

  33. I just turned 50. Going from 45->50 is a much more significant decline than going from 40->45. You feel your age much more and that is without taking hits all season. My guess is that even if he remains without major injury, he will hang it up well short of 50 (deciding he no longer wants to take the punishment which gets harder and harder to recover from).

  34. flash1224 says:
    September 16, 2021 at 4:13 pm

    Brady has thrown more than 40 TD’s once in his career, in 2007.

    He also did it last season

    ——————————————————–

    No he didn’t. He threw 40 TDs last season. That is not more than 40.

  35. Vasteelerfan says:
    September 16, 2021 at 4:27 pm
    Like many peoplei really don’t care about Brady or how long he plays. I don’t buy his goody goody facade and think in time he will be exposed as the
    Lance Armstrong of the NFL

    ——-

    Yeah….how else can you rationalize Brady absolutely owning your Steelers his entire career

  36. nygiantsownbrady says:
    September 16, 2021 at 2:54 pm
    I don’t think this man has a life.

    ——-
    This ones too easy.

  37. logicalone says:
    September 16, 2021 at 2:51 pm
    Players never lasted that long back before the league started protecting QB’s. Some of the cheap shots and blows to be head in the 80’s and 90’s were unreal. League finally got smart when the started paying players huge sums of money the had to protect their investments.

    Meanwhile other teams are paying huge sums of money to take out quarterbacks.

  38. But can he play until he has all of the kicking records too? How about the rushing ones? Or the defensive ones?

  39. logicalone says:
    September 16, 2021 at 2:51 pm
    Players never lasted that long back before the league started protecting QB’s. Some of the cheap shots and blows to be head in the 80’s and 90’s were unreal. League finally got smart when the started paying players huge sums of money the had to protect their investments.
    ——————————————————————–
    ———————————————————————
    ——————————————————————–

    Have you ever heard ofthis guy’

    1. George Blanda
    Position: Quarterback, kicker
    Age in final game: 48
    Teams: Chicago Bears, Oakland Raiders, Houston Oilers, Baltimore Colts
    Years active: 1949-1975

    The oldest player in NFL history, Blanda managed to see the field for 26 seasons as a quarterback and scored at least one point in each campaign.

    Blanda was utilized both as a placekicker and a quarterback, and it is hard to imagine a position player ever coming close to breaking Blanda’s record.

  40. Manning and Brees lost a ton of arm Strength at the end. Brady is much healthier than they were, but I’m guessing that if an injury doesn’t get him arm strength will at some point. The good thing is I don’t think Brady will tarnish himself by hanging on too long. So many clowns around here forgot manning and Brees were two of the best ever just because they played a year too long.

  41. Has Brady made a deal with the Devil? I mean, he has won 7 Super Bowls with 2 different teams, holds most NFL records, is still QBing at 44, not only married a super model, but the only wife who actually made more money than an NFL Quarterback, got out of the frozen tundra in New England, and moved to sunny Florida and won another Super Bowl. I tell you, it’s not natural..These are things one can only conjure up in fantasies.

  42. Tom Brady is what Brett Favre & Aaron Rodgers were supposed to be (career wise)

    ———————

    Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning. Put together.

  43. He can’t bear the thought of up and coming QB’s eventually surpassing his records. Which guaranteed will happen. His massive ego and narcissism cause him to neglect everything else in his life in order to hang on and try to preserve his records.

  44. unclmikl says:
    September 16, 2021 at 9:26 pm

    Have you ever heard ofthis guy’

    1. George Blanda
    Position: Quarterback, kicker
    Age in final game: 48
    Teams: Chicago Bears, Oakland Raiders, Houston Oilers, Baltimore Colts
    Years active: 1949-1975

    The oldest player in NFL history, Blanda managed to see the field for 26 seasons as a quarterback and scored at least one point in each campaign.

    Blanda was utilized both as a placekicker and a quarterback, and it is hard to imagine a position player ever coming close to breaking Blanda’s record.

    =================================================

    If you’re going to quote these statistics, quote them all. Blanda didn’t start a game after his 44th birthday. During the period he still played after he turned 44, he threw a grand total of 15 passes – over 4 years – completing 5 of them. That’s 1.2 completions per season over 4 seasons.

    Blanda spent the last several years of his career as a kicker. He would not have been retained on any team as a quarterback or as anything other than a kicker.

  45. Brady as a Patriot won more Super Bowls(6) than Montana(4) and Young(1) combined(5) as 49ers.

    Brady has accomplished more than two hall of fame quarterbacks combined.
    ==========

    Steve Young would not be a Hall of Famer if he played in this era.

    The Cowboys and Packers OWNED him. He lost more big games than Manning, and looked mediocre while doing so.

  46. Tom, I’m 51 and I say to you: Don’t even THINK about it! Yeah, I know you drink a lot of water, but the age of 50 doesn’t play around. It’s serious.

  47. swampthaaang says:
    September 16, 2021 at 6:51 pm

    You’re never too old to cheat.
    ______________________

    If the extent of Brady’s cheating was letting a couple psi out of the ball, how do you explain his SB wins after that “cheating” was discovered and no longer was allowed?

    How exactly did he cheat last season? How did he throw for 40 TDs and a 102 rating with ALL THAT PRESSURE IN THE BALL? COuld it be that it never mattered one bit in the first place? Yeah.

  48. I would love to see Tom Brady retire. He’s been an obstacle to every other team that tries to win a Lombardi trophy. But I’m amazed by him year after year and I have to give him the respect that he’s so clearly earned. For a guy who’s slower than a nose tackle to last in this league and do what he’s done is just beyond reason. I’m 65 and hope I live long enough to see him hang up his cleats.

  49. Brady is a better more clutch QB in his forties than Peyton Mannning in his prime. That is exactly why old man rocking chair Manning takes cheap shots. You are a forgotten whining loser Peyton. Your star is eclipsed by Brady’s Death Sun.

  50. He’ll retire when he has a weak offensive line and no receivers to throw to…kinda like if he was still with the Patriots.

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