After Sunday’s loss to the Rams, Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady said he’s take some time to make a decision about playing next season -- even though he previously had said on numerous occasions that he planned to play in 2022. In his latest episode of Let’s Go, Brady did nothing to dispel the possibility that he’ll be gone.
“I think the point is there’s no really rush for me to figure out what’s next,” Brady said. “You know, I’ll know when I know. It’s a day after the season. So I think for all of us, you know, we can all decompress a bit. It’s been six straight months of football, every day consumed by day in and day out football. And I think now it’s just some time to spend some time with my family and spend some time with my kids.”
For five years, Brady’s wife, Gisele Bundchen, has tried to get him to retire.
“My wife is my biggest supporter,” Brady said. “It pains her to see me get hit out there. And she deserves what she needs from me as a husband and my kids deserve what they need from me as a dad. And I’m gonna spend some time with them and give them what they need, ‘cause they’ve really been giving me what I need the last six months to do what I love to do. I said this a few years ago, it’s what relationships are all about. It’s not always what I want. 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.”
Brady doesn’t feel the need to have a final-year farewell tour. For years, we’ve heard that he definitely doesn’t want an all-about-Tommy final season in football.
“I think that would be distracting for me,” Brady said. “I’m really an ultimate, my enjoyment comes from not a recognition of kind of what I’ve accomplished as a player in the league. My enjoyment comes from the competition. Moreso than anything, even yesterday, I was thinking about competing. I was thinking about, this whole year, about competing. I wasn’t thinking about anything other than that. So when the time comes to think about post career and second career I’ll think about those things. It’s just when you’re 44, I guess you get asked about that a lot. And a lot of people thought I was done playing football in 2015. A lot of people in 2016 said, ‘You’re done.’ A lot of people in 2018, and when I left the Patriots, they said, ‘You’re done.’”
So could he actually walk away after the way the 2021 season ended? Would he be satisfied with that?
“I would say I’m proud and satisfied of everything we accomplished this year,” Brady said. “So I know when I give it my all, that’s something to be proud of. And I’ve literally given everything I had this year, last year, the year before that, the year before that. Like, I don’t leave anything half-ass, you know? I think I leave it with everything that I have. My physical being, I work really hard on that. I feel like I give everything I can to my teammates. Although, you know, it is divided attention as you get older, ‘cause there’s different priorities and responsibilities in life. And, you know, I have things happening outside of football that require some time and energy. Not a ton but, you know, the kids require time and energy and that’s enjoyable for me, too. So again, it’s a, you know, I’ll know when the time is right and there’s no rush to make a decision. So, you know, we’ll just see.”
Indeed we will. And it’s possible we have seen the last of Brady, with the Bucs or with anyone.