Brady has many post-football options
Here we are, back at the actuarial rock pile, trying to determine Tom Brady’s shelf life as a National Football League quarterback.
It used to be we’d wring our hands over the whole “1918” thing, along with wondering if a new Boston Garden would ever get built. Other examples of annual angst that came and went include:
— Will Red Auerbach break up The Big Three?
— Will the Patriots move to Jacksonville? Los Angeles? Hartford? Holyoke?
— Will this be the year Northeastern wins the Beanpot?
Now it’s Tom Brady and when he’ll retire — TB12 and TBD.
But let’s assume his decision to liberate himself from the rigors of football will be made sooner rather than later, sooner being next year or the year after that, later being a Timeless Tom who’s still ambling about at age 45. But what then?
After he collects his gold watch (made by the nice people from TAG Heuer, for whom Brady pitches) and completes his Hall of Fame induction speech in Canton, what’s the postgame show looking like?
We can take it to the bank (several Brink’s trucks will be needed) that Brady will be a business mogul, hawking his books, diets and fitness plans. Anything else? Glad you asked. What follows is a random list of possible career opportunities awaiting Brady, along with some examples of retired Boston athletes who eased on down that road:
• Dentist (Red Sox pitcher Jim Lonborg, the late Patriots center Bill Lenkaitis.) Lonborg once told me that one of the reasons he chose dentistry was that his wife told him, “Well, you always did look good in uniform.” He consulted with Lenkaitis, who died in 2016, before embarking on his own career in dentistry. Would it work for Brady? Not a chance, even if one could see Gisele Bündchen telling Brady he’d look good in a dentist’s crisp, white lab coat. But while Lenkaitis and Lonborg both enjoyed fine careers as professional athletes, they didn’t make incalculable millions. They had to work, if only for intellectual stimulation. At Brady’s age, and with his wealth, he’s not likely to trudge through catch-up undergraduate biology courses before applying to dental school.
• Sports Agent (Bobby Orr.) The surprise isn’t that more ex-players don’t go into agenting, given that they have a from-the-otherside-of-the-table perspective the rest of us couldn’t possibly fathom. Would it work for Brady? Possibly. He clearly has an interest in the business side of football, and he’d command attention and respect at the negotiating table, as No. 4 does. It would never be his fulltime job, but don’t count it out.
• Talk-show host
(Lou Merloni, Scott Zolak, Christian Fauria, among others.) Fans listen to ex-jocks, because they bring a been- there-done-that perspective to things. It helps to have a self-deprecating sense of humor, as these guys do. Would it work for Brady? No, and for the simple reason it’s impossible to have a self-deprecating sense of humor when you’re a GOAT. But I have to admit that “Brady & Reimer” has a nice ring to it. And you’d listen.
• Actor (Chuck Connors, Kyrie Irving) Connors, an original Celtic who also played a little for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Cubs, later emerged as a household name as the star of the classic TV western “The Rifleman.” Irving is the title character in the film “Uncle Drew,” which he’s been promoting in earnest. Such was Connors’ devotion to his various careers that “The Rifleman” is printed on his grave marker, along with the logos of the Celtics, Dodgers and Cubs. Would it work for Brady? Fair or not, one of the criticisms of Brady when he broke into the NFL was that he wasn’t a deep threat. I feel the same about him as an actor. I could see him in small comedic turns, along with cameos in which he plays himself, but not as Michael Corleone in a reboot of “The Godfather” series.
• Recluse (Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski) Like Teddy Ballgame before him, Captain Carl wiles away his post-playing days at out-ofthe-way fishing holes, and in the company of like-minded individuals. For Williams, this included the late, great Bud Leavitt, the longtime sports editor of The Bangor Daily News. Williams so enjoyed Leavitt’s company he recruited him to join him in TV commercials for Nissen bread. For Yaz, appearances at Fenway Park are few and far between, and he’s often out the door and on the way home before whatever ceremony he’s been in has ended. Would it work for Brady? Bank on it. The day will never come when Brady is wandering aimlessly around Gillette Stadium on Game Day. Unless he’s the owner of the team, which, well, you never know.