Despite reports that he is retiring, Tom Brady has told the Tampa Bay Buccaneers he hasn’t made up his mind, two people familiar with the details told The Associated Press.
ESPN first reported Brady’s retirement this morning, citing unidentified sources.
Brady’s company posted a tweet indicating he’s retiring, and reaction came from around the world congratulating Brady on his career.
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But the tweet was later deleted, and Brady’s agent, Don Yee, said the 44-year-old quarterback would be the only person to accurately express his future.
Brady called Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht to say he has not made a decision, according to two people who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the conversations.
Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion and the NFL’s career leader in numerous passing categories, is under contract for 2022, but he has cited a desire to spend more time with his wife, supermodel Gisele Bundchen, and three children despite still playing at the top of his game.
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After ESPN’s report, TB12sports Twitter account wrote: “7 Super Bowl Rings. 5 Super Bowl MVPs. 3 League MVP Awards. 22 Incredible Seasons. Thank you for it all, @TomBrady”
That post was removed, and Yee released this statement: “I understand the advance speculation about Tom’s future. Without getting into the accuracy or inaccuracy of what’s being reported, Tom will be the only person to express his plans with complete accuracy. He knows the realities of the football business and planning calendar as well as anybody, so that should be soon.”
Brady led the NFL in yards passing (5,316), touchdowns (43), completions (485) and attempts (719), but the Buccaneers lost at home to the Los Angeles Rams last weekend in the divisional round.
Brady won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots in 20 seasons playing for coach Bill Belichick.
He joined the Buccaneers in 2020 and led them to the second Super Bowl title in franchise history.
Brady leaves the game as the career leader in yards passing (84,520) and touchdowns (624).
He’s the only player to win more than five Super Bowls and was MVP of the game five times.
Widely considered the greatest quarterback to play the game, Brady won three NFL MVP awards, was a first-team All-Pro three times and was selected to the Pro Bowl 15 times.
He was 243-73 in his career in the regular season and 35-12 in the playoffs.
Overlooked by every team coming out of Michigan, Brady was eventually selected by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL draft with the 199th overall pick.
He replaced an injured Drew Bledsoe as the starter in 2001 and led New England to a Super Bowl victory over the heavily favoured Rams that season.
Brady went on to lead the Patriots to Super Bowl victories over the Panthers following the 2003 season and Eagles after the 2004 season.
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No team has since repeated as champions.
But New England wouldn’t win another one for a decade, twice losing to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl, including a 17-14 defeat on February 3, 2008 that prevented the Patriots from completing a perfect season.
Brady earned his fourth ring when the Patriots held off Seattle thanks to Malcolm Butler’s interception at the goal line in the Super Bowl after the 2014 season.
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Two years later, in the biggest Super Bowl comeback, he led the Patriots out of a 28-3 deficit in the third quarter against Atlanta to win in overtime.
After losing to the Eagles and backup quarterback Nick Foles the following year, Brady got his sixth championship when New England shut down the Rams following the 2018 season.
He joined the Buccaneers in 2020 amid a pandemic, instilling a winning culture to a franchise that hadn’t won a playoff game in 18 years.
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With his old friend Rob Gronkowski joining him in Tampa, Brady helped the Buccaneers become the first team to play in a Super Bowl in its stadium.
Naturally, Brady won again.
Brady threw more touchdown passes in his 40s (168) than in his 20s (147).
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Highlights of Tom Brady’s NFL career:
Super Bowl appearances (10): Super Bowl 36, Super Bowl 38, Super Bowl 39, Super Bowl 42, Super Bowl 46, Super Bowl 49, Super Bowl 51, Super Bowl 52, Super Bowl 53, Super Bowl 55.
Super Bowl champion (7): Super Bowl 36, Super Bowl 38, Super Bowl 39, Super Bowl 49, Super Bowl 51, Super Bowl 53, Super Bowl 55.
Super Bowl MVP (5): Super Bowl 36, Super Bowl 38, Super Bowl 49, Super Bowl 51, Super Bowl 55.
League MVP (3): 2007, 2010, 2017.
All-Pro Teams (3): 2007, 2010, 2017.
AP Offensive Player of the Year (2): 2007, 2010.
AP Comeback Player of the Year (1): 2009.
AP Male Athlete of the Year (1): 2007.
Records (regular season): NFL all-time leader in wins (243), touchdown passes (624), passing yardage (84,520) and completions (7,263)
Records (postseason): Wins (35), passing yards (12,720), TD passes (85).
Records (Super Bowl): Led biggest comeback in Super Bowl history, overcoming 28-3 deficit for 34-28 OT win in Super Bowl 51. Most passing yards (505 in 41-33 loss in Super Bowl 52).
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Miscellaneous
At age 44, oldest player in league history to throw for 5,000 yards in a season.
One of four quarterbacks to defeat all 32 teams (Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Brett Favre).
Won 18 division titles (17 AFC East, 1 NFC South).
14 appearances in conference title game (13 AFC, 1 NFC).
Only player to be Super Bowl MVP for multiple teams (New England, Tampa Bay).
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