After intense speculation yesterday regarding his future, Tom Brady might want to wait a little before deciding to hang up his boots after 22 seasons in the NFL due to a handsome payout if he decides to call time on his career after February 4.
The legendary quarterback, 44, agreed to a one-year extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers through the 2022 season, worth $25million, in March 2021. However, if he retires before February 4, Brady will be giving up $15million out of a $20million signing bonus. Should he stay on through that date, Spotrac reports that Brady’s entire salary would be guaranteed but voided if he decides to retire.
Brady had initially signed a two-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when he first joined them from free agency at the beginning of the 2020 season after his contract with the New England Patriots had expired.
Tom Brady has announced that he hasn’t decided if he will retired from the NFL after ESPN reported he was leaving the league earlier on Saturday
The deal was worth $50million, and according to multiple reports, Brady’s extra year reportedly saved the team $19 million against the salary cap this year. It also includes a no-trade clause and a no-franchise or transition tag clause.
But don’t count the legendary quarterback out of the game just yet.
Brady hasn’t made up his mind about retiring, he told the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday, despite earlier reports that claimed the seven-time Super Bowl champ would exit the NFL.
Two sources familiar with the conversation told The Associated Press that Brady hasn’t made up his mind about retirement.
His dad, Tom Brady Sr., also told KRON4 News his son isn’t retiring, saying it was a rumor started online. Brady is apparently ‘not even close’ to making a decision, according to The Athletics’ Jeff Howe.
‘This story, Mike. is total conjecture. Tommy has not made a final decision one way or the other and anybody else that says that he has is absolutely wrong,’ Tom Brady Sr. told Mike Giardi of the NFL Network.
ESPN first reported Brady’s retirement on Saturday, citing unidentified sources. Brady’s company also posted a tweet indicating he’s retiring, and reaction began pouring in from around the world congratulating Brady on his career.
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.
TB12 Sports had tweeted, before it was deleted 30 minutes later: ‘7 Super Bowl Rings. 5 Super Bowl MVPs. 3 League MVP Awards. 22 Incredible Seasons. Thank you for it all @TomBrady.’
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 the condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the conversations.
Brady had recently told fans that he would consider his family’s needs when deciding whether he would continue playing
Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion and the NFL’s career leader in numerous passing categories, is under contract with the Buccaneers for 2022, but he has cited a desire to spend more time with his wife, supermodel Gisele Bündchen, and three children despite still playing at the top of his game.
Earlier on Saturday, ESPN’s sources said the superstar athlete was considering his family, health and the likely Buccaneers roster turnover while making his highly-anticipated decision.
‘Many who know him believed he desired a decision made without much drama leading up to it,’ ESPN reported. He had previously said that he didn’t want to play a ‘farewell season.’
The Tampa Bay team has been expecting Brady’s retirement, with one source saying ‘all signs point’ to the top quarterback not returning next season – yet that remains to be seen.
The legendary quarterback, who is widely considered one of the greatest of all time, has earned seven Super Bowl rings, been named Super Bowl MVP five times and won the NFL’s MVP award three times throughout his career.
He currently has more Super Bowl wins than any franchise team on its own, winning six with the Patriots (2002, 2004, 2005, 2015, 2017, 2019) and one with the Buccaneers (2021). And he’s the only player to win a Super Bowl in three different decades. He has never had a losing season.
He spent the first 20 years of his career with the New England Patriots before moving to Tampa Bay with a two-year deal in March 2020 worth a guaranteed $50 million.
The 44-year-old had previously stated that he planned to play in the NFL until he turned 45, which will be this August, and had hoped to leave after winning another Super Bowl.
The legendary quarterback is the oldest active player in the NFL
Brady hinted at retirement earlier this week in an Instagram post
Earlier Saturday, many athletes had congratulated Brady on his amazing career, again touting him the GOAT, or greatest of all time.
Former Heisman winner Robert Griffin III wrote on Twitter: ‘Tom Brady should be eligible to go into the Hall of Fame THIS YEAR. That’s how great he was. No doubt the greatest of all time.’
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes II simply captioned his post with a goat emoji.
‘The best ever. Congratulations bro @TomBrady grateful to have gotten to share the field with you! Much love fam [goat],’ Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammate Chris Godwin wrote.
Point Guard for the Atlanta Hawks wrote: ‘[Goat] Hell of a ride!!’
Sports Center honored the player, as well, writing: ‘What a career for Tom Brady, [goat].’
Former New England Patriots player wide receiver poked fun at the player, writing: ‘Thanks for the memories, babe @TomBrady.’
Fox Sports 1’s Skip Bayless honored the quarterback for being a great ‘leader,’ writing: ‘Tom Brady: greatest clutch player ever. Greatest football player ever. Greatest leader ever. I never heard a single ex-teammate of his (and I’ve known man) ever say a single bad thing about him. Greatest sports career ever.’
Many flooded social media with tribute posts to the quarterback, honoring him as the GOAT and thanking him for the memories
Brady has played 316 games and recorded 243 regular season wins; he has completed 84,520 passing yards, 624 passing touchdowns and 14 postseason game-winning drives.
Most analysts agree that Brady will be inducted into the Football Hall of Fame.
However, a recent post shared by Brady last week had fans speculating an early retirement, when he indicated his family would have a big say in whether he continues to play professionally.
‘I understand that at this stage in my career, there is going to be interest in my future whenever a season ends, but this week, all that is on my mind is the gratitude I have for this team and the fans that have supported us all year long,’ he wrote on Instagram.
‘This year has been incredibly rewarding personally and professionally and I am appreciative of everyone who worked their a** off to help our team achieve so much. I always want to win, I think that’s pretty apparent by now, but that doesn’t mean I equate losing to failure, especially when you go out fighting the way we did.
‘There’s so much to appreciate in a season like this when you’re surrounded by a team that believes in each other, and plays for the people standing on either side of them. I’ll spare you the Man in the Arena quote, but that feeling is something that I promise I’ll never take for granted. To everyone that was a part of it this year, thank you. I love you all!’
He spent the first 20 years of his career at New England Patriots before moving to Tampa Bay for the past two years
The 44-year-old is widely considered as the best player in the history of the sport after some stunning accolades. Pictured: Brady with the New England Patriots in 2002 playing against the St. Louis Rams
Brady married supermodel Gisele Bündchen in 2009. He has three children: John ‘Jack’ Moynahan, 14; Benjamin Brady, 12, and Vivian Brady, nine. He shares his oldest child with actress Bridget Moynahan and his two youngest with his wife Gisele.
‘My wife is my biggest supporter,’ Brady said on his ‘Let’s Go!’ podcast. ‘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.
‘I’m gonna spend some time with them and give them what they need, because they’ve really been giving me what I need the last six months – to do what I need to do and I said this a few years ago.
‘It’s what relationships are all about. It’s not always about what I want. It’s about 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.’
Known for his work ethic, intense exercise and nutrition regimen, Brady found a funny way to congratulate Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on his retirement earlier this week.
Brady wrote: ‘Ben defied the TB12 Method in favor of the “Throw Some Ice On It” method his whole career, and ended up an all-time-great with 6 Pro-Bowls and 2 Super Bowls. There’s more than one way to bake a cake!’
Brady has racked up seven Super Bowl trophies and earned the MVP award five times during his outstanding career
Before the tweet was deleted and Brady announced he was sure he was leaving, tributes poured in from across the globe, with fans hailing Brady as ‘the greatest’
The hint’s at Brady’s retirement could be strategic in a bid to give Tampa Bay time to find a replacement, with the conference championships on Sunday and then the Super Bowl a fortnight later
Overlooked by every team coming out of college at 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 favored Rams that season.
Brady went on to lead the Patriots to Super Bowl victories over the Carolina Panthers following the 2003 season, and then the Philadelphia Eagles after the 2004 season. 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 New England held off Seattle thanks to Malcolm Butler’s interception at the goal line in the Super Bowl after the 2014 season.
Two years later, in the biggest Super Bowl comeback, he led the Patriots out of a 28-3 deficit in the third quarter against the Atlanta Falcons 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 Los Angeles Rams following the 2018 season.
He joined the Buccaneers in 2020 amid the pandemic, instilling a winning culture for a franchise that hadn’t won a playoff game in 18 years. With his old friend and teammate from New England 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).
In the 20 seasons he has been a starter, Brady reached the playoffs 19 times, won 18 division titles, went 10-4 in conference championships and 7-3 in Super Bowls. He played in the conference championship eight times in his last 10 years.
Since starting his first game on September 30, 2001, Brady has been under center for every game except when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 1 in 2008 and the first four games in 2016 when he sat out a suspension because of the deflated footballs scandal.
