After ESPN and other sports news outlets reported that NFL legend Tom Brady was ending his illustrious career after 22 seasons, Brady’s own company posted then deleted a tweet indicating Brady was indeed retiring.
If Brady, who led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl win last season, does call it quits, he played his last game Jan. 23 in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, losing 30-27 to the Los Angeles Rams.
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Brady, 44, has yet to officially announce the retirement, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting multiple sources have told him and Jeff Darlington, also with ESPN, that the announcement is coming.
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
Longtime NFL reporter Michael Silver said he’s heard differently. Silver tweeted: “For the record: I have 100 percent faith in @JeffDarlington and his reporting, always, and know that he and @AdamSchefter are extremely plugged in on this... Just passing along the Bucs’ current perspective...”
That perspective was that Brady contacted Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht and disputed the ESPN report, saying he hasn’t yet made a final decision on retirement.
“Licht is respecting Brady’s process and waiting for a definitive answer, whenever it comes, from the QB,” Silver wrote on Twitter.
Report for @BallySports: Tom Brady contacted @Buccaneers GM Jason Licht and told him he has not yet made a final decision on retirement, disputing the ESPN report. Licht is respecting Brady's process and waiting for a definitive answer, whenever it comes, from the QB.
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) January 29, 2022
Brady’s agent, Don 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.”
The NFL Network, for its part, acknowledged the other reports but said it is standing by its report that Brady will retire and just has yet to make the announcement. Reporter Ian Rapoport said he believes it’s an issue of timing for Brady.
Brady had 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. 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 Sunday 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 will leave the sport as the career leader in yards passing (84,520) and TDs (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.
For more on Brady’s legendary career, click here.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.