Tom Brady is confident he can play in the NFL for another 11 years. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback spoke to Andrea Kremer and Hannah Storm before the team defeated the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night. Brady, who is 44, believes he can play until he’s 55 as long as he can stay healthy.
“I really think I can play as long as I want,” Brady told Kremer and Storm. “I could literally play until I’m 50 or 55 if I wanted to. I don’t think I will obviously … my physical body won’t be the problem. I think it’ll just be, I’m missing too much of my life with my family.”
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Playing at a high level at 55 years old is hard to imagine, especially when there are guys that will be 30 years younger than him trying to take him down. But Brady playing at a high level at 44 years old is something that is rare in professional sports. Through the first six games of the season, Brady has completed 68.5 % of his passes for 2,064 yards, 17 touchdowns and three interceptions with a 108 passer rating. His play is one of the reasons the Buccaneers have the second-best record in the NFC only behind the undefeated Arizona Cardinals.
It’s not likely Brady will play for that long because of his family. In fact, it’s possible Brady won’t play past 50. “Wow, seems to be a really hot question lately,” Brady said, in a Buccaneers video with Rob Gronkowski in September. “Can Tom Brady play ’til 50? Like, 50 years old? Fifty. 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.”
The important thing for Brady is staying healthy. He injured his thumb last week and dealt with a knee injury last season. Brady has two years remaining on his contract, but what if he wins another Super Bowl at the end of this season? Is it possible for Brady to go out on top and ride off into the sunset? Knowing how he operates, it’s likely he will retire once he wins 10 Super Bowls.
