Tom Brady Retiring?
Less than an hour after orchestrating what could have been one of the greatest NFL Playoff comebacks, Tom Brady was asked about retirement: “How have you contemplated coming back next season?” He responded honestly, “I haven’t put a lot of thought into it…” The next three questions followed in the same vein, with Tom responding similarly, with a mix of “Just been thinking about the game today” “Only thought of winning today.” Fast forward to this Schefter Bomb midday Saturday, January 29th:
Tom Brady is retiring from football after 22 extraordinary seasons, multiple sources tell @JeffDarlington and me.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 29, 2022
More coming on https://t.co/rDZaVFhcDQ. pic.twitter.com/6CHWmMlyXg
And our lives have changed forever. But have they really? Did Schefter check with his editor first? It looks like he did not. Within a few hours, Tom Brady Sr. is telling reporters Tom Brady hasn’t even had a chance to think about the future, let alone retirement.
Checked in with Tom Brady Sr. who tells me, and I quote, “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.” #TomBrady #Buccaneers
— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) January 29, 2022
Tom has also reached out to the Bucs to inform them that he has not made up his mind yet.
Tom Brady called the Bucs late this afternoon to inform them he’s not even close to making a decision about retirement, according to a source.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) January 29, 2022
So, what are we left to think? Let’s break it down.
Non-Football Reasoning
If you’ve seen anything this season about Tom Brady and his retirement and watched any of his games, guaranteed, you’ve seen this commercial:
As you can see, there is a big misunderstanding that leads to a major news outlet wrongfully telling the world there’s a trade involving Tom coming up. Eerily similar to how this retirement saga has been playing out since Schefter’s tweet. This would not be the first time Tom has used his murky future in his marketing plans. Last season saw the T-Mobile commercials with Gronk, and prior to that let us not forget the important Brady announcement during the Super Bowl, only for it to be a commercial for Hulu. Yes, Hulu has live sports series of commercials.
So, what is to say they don’t leak obtuse info to the media? Especially someone like Schefter, by also including someone in Brady’s camp so it appears legit, yet the only one releasing the info was Schefter. The ultimate misdirect and the biggest prank by someone who has quietly been one of the biggest trolls in NFL history. But if you do not believe me don’t worry, I won’t tell you I told you so when it happens.
Football Reasoning
Let’s start with how he’s dealt with questions about his future all season. Throughout the season when asked about the future of his career beyond this season. Tom deflected the majority of questions, however, there were always similar threads in his answers. He always referenced how good he felt, noting he did not feel old or slow. He made sure to mention that he could see himself walking into the sunset after another Super Bowl victory, this makes sense, all the greats want to go out on top. Finally, and this is the most telling, Tom has mentioned his desire to return to play if he still feels he can be productive, and if he still has unfinished business. Unfinished business? Tom? Is that even possible? Yes, it is now. up until that loss to the Rams and Stafford, there was no unfinished business for Tom.
Brady was looking to walk into the sunset. Ready to reap all that he had seen in this world. Enjoy time off, dance at Carnival with his wife again, see his children grow up, take over Transylvania again (typical Dracula stuff). All jokes aside, the man is in his 40’s outperforming men in their 20’s on a regular basis. He has absolutely found his peak, and unlike last season where he threw too many picks late in games, this season he was exceptional. Until LA came to town. Tom now has a vengeance plan, and unfortunately for the NFL, that means we will not get rid of him anytime soon.
What About the Records?
It’s not the records he’s looking at breaking, because frankly, he leads all the ones you can change in a season. It is all about his legacy. In a more fan-friendly and less in-your-face method than Lebron, Brady has taken his career and molded it into being an everyman’s career. Always overlooked, fought for his chance, and never let it go once he got it, becoming the G.O.A.T. in the process. But that only etched forever into history with a Super Bowl victory immediately followed by retirement.
Plain and Simple, if Tom does end up retiring, congrats on an illustrious career, Tom is the G.O.A.T. and there is nothing anyone can do about it. However, his storybook is not finished, you still need that happy ending, so we will see TB12 next season, and don’t be surprised if we see him push for another MVP and a Super Bowl title. One day we will learn to not jump to conclusions before we hear from the individual in question.
Be sure to follow Kelcey Coyne (@High_Low_Sports) for more hot sports content. For more on the NFL Playoffs, check out the story written by Nathan Nguyen about the Conference Championships. For more on why Brady shouldn’t retire yet, check out this story by Kaleb McChesney. As always stay up to date on the NFL right here on Belly Up Sports.
