Tom Brady Teases Retiring From NFL

Tom Brady knows that retirement is closer now than it was 10 years ago. But is it going to happen in the very near future? The Tampa Bay Bay Buccaneers quarterback recently appeared on HBO’s The Shop: Uninterrupted and talked about how his NFL career will be ending very soon.

“We’re coming to the end,” he said at one point, per Pro Football Talk. “It’s coming to the end.” Brady will turn 44 in a few weeks, so it makes sense for him to say that. But is he indicating that “the end” could come at the end of the 2021 season? Brady recently signed an extension with the Buccaneers, meaning he’s under contract through 2022. He signed with the Buccaneers in March 2020 after spending 20 years with the New England Patriots. When talking to reporters before the Super Bowl in February, Brady was asked he would play past 45.

“Yeah definitely,” he said to reporters on Monday. “I would definitely consider that. It’s a physical sport, and just the perspective I have on that is you never know when that moment is. …There’s a lot of training that goes into it. It has to be a 100% commitment for myself to keep doing it. I’ve been fortunate over the years.”

Brady has done a good job taking care of himself over the years, missing only the 2008 season due to a torn ACL. He did have knee surgery this offseason will be ready to go when the season begins in September. Due to Brady’s production in 2020, he should be able to play another couple of years. But it’s likely his career will end before he turns 50.

“50? That’s a long time. Even for me, that’s a long time,” Brady said to USA Today earlier this month. “I’ve always said 45 was the age that I wanted to reach and that was my goal. This year I’ll be 44, so next year I’ll be 45. I got a two-year contract. I’m going to be able to obviously play this year and God forbid anything happens but play next year and then see what happens after that. If I still want to keep playing, I might be able to do that. And if that’s enough, then that would be enough.”