Despite reports, Tom Brady apparently undecided about retirement

TAMPA, Fla. — Did he or didn’t he? Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, who won seven Super Bowl titles during a stellar career in New England and Tampa Bay, is retiring from football after 22 seasons, according to a report. However, another report suggests that the veteran has yet to make up his mind.

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ESPN, citing unnamed sources, said Brady, 44, who won six Super Bowl titles with the Patriots and one with the Buccaneers, is planning to retire. Neither the Buccaneers nor Brady have confirmed the report.

However, Brady’s website, TB12sports, tweeted “Thank you for it all, @tombrady,” on Saturday afternoon. The tweet was taken down within an hour.

Update 5:11 p.m. EST Jan. 29: Tom Brady told the Tampa Bay Buccaneers he has not made up his mind about retiring two people familiar with the details told The Associated Press.

Brady called Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht and told him he had not decided whether to hang up his cleats, two people who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the conversations.

According to KRON-TV, Brady’s father told the television station that his son was not retiring, calling the published reports an “unsubstantiated rumor.”

Original report: In a statement, Brady’s agent, Don Yee, said that he understood the “advance speculation” about Brady’s future. He neither confirmed nor denied the ESPN report.

“Without getting into the accuracy or inaccuracy about what’s being reported, Tom will be the only person to express his plans with complete accuracy,” Yee said. “He knows the realities of the football business and planning calendar as well as anybody, so that should be soon.”:

However, the Bucs and coach Bruce Arians had not received any word about those plans from Brady or his agent. “No he hasn’t (retired) that we know of,” Arians told the Tampa Bay Times moments after ESPN’s report. “Agent (Donald Yee) just told us he hasn’t made up his mind.”

Sources told ESPN that Brady’s decision to retire is based on several factors, including family and health. Brady led the Buccaneers to a 13-4 regular-season record in 2021 and a Super Bowl LV title after the 2020 season.

While Brady was still on top of his game, family considerations were more important to the quarterback, known as the GOAT (greatest of all time).

“Tom loves football, he loves everything about it and he pours all he has into being the best quarterback and leader for his coaches and teammates,” quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen told the Times. “But he also wants to be a Hall of Fame dad and a Hall of Fame husband. That’s just as important and probably more so than being a Hall of Fame quarterback.”

Brady threw for an NFL-record 84,250 yards and 624 touchdowns during his career. He spent his first 20 seasons with the Patriots, where he won Super Bowl titles after the 2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016 and 2018 seasons.

Brady appeared in a record 10 Super Bowls, winning seven times.

Brady led the Patriots to a perfect regular season in 2007, making the Patriots the second NFL team to finish a regular season with an unbeaten, untied record. But New England’s quest to join the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only teams that went wire to wire without a loss was thwarted when Eli Manning and the New York Giants stunned the Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII. New England finished the season 18-1.

The Patriots would lose again to Manning and the Giants four years later in Super Bowl XLVI, falling 21-17.

New England used a last-second goal-line interception to beat Seattle in Super Bowl XLIX, but it was Brady’s performance in Super Bowl LI in 2017 that cemented his status as one of the NFL’s greatest players.

The Patriots were trailing the Atlanta Falcons 28-3 in the third quarter, but a Brady-led comeback led to a tie game and the first overtime contest in Super Bowl history. New England won the game 34-28 in overtime.

Brady’s last game with the Buccaneers evoked memories of that comeback. Tampa Bay trailed 27-3 to the Los Angeles Rams before scoring 24 unanswered points in last Sunday’s divisional playoff. Tampa Bay tied the game with 42 seconds remaining, but Los Angeles rallied to win 30-27 on a final-second field goal.

Brady led the NFL in yards passing (5,316), touchdowns (43), completions (485) and attempts (719) during the 2021 season. He led Tampa Bay to its first Super Bowl title since the 2002 season and the team’s first divisional crown since 2007.

By topping the 5,000 mark this season, Brady became the oldest quarterback to top that plateau, NBC News reported. Brady is the only player to win the Super Bowl MVP five times, and he has been the league’s MVP three times, the news outlet reported.

Brady went 219-64 in the regular season during his 20 years in New England and 24-9 in the regular season in his two seasons in Tampa Bay.

He signed a two-year, $50 million contract with Tampa Bay in March 2020 as a free agent, the Times reported.

Appearing on his “Let’s Go” podcast with host Jim Gray earlier this week, Brady said he was “satisfied” with his NFL career, ESPN reported.

It pains (my wife) to see me get hit out there,” Brady said on the podcast, the Times reported. “And she deserves what she needs from me as a husband and my kids deserve what they need from me as a dad. ... But not playing football, there’s a lot of joy in that for me also now, too, with my kids getting older and seeing them develop and grow.”

The only quarterback under contract with Tampa Bay right now is former University of Florida star Kyle Trask, who was inactive during his rookie season, the newspaper reported. Backup Blaine Gabbert is a free agent.

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Tom Brady TAMPA, FL - NOVEMBER 23: Tom Brady (12) of the Buccaneers is all smiles before the regular season game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on November 23, 2020 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) (Icon Sportswire/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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