Brady is ‘not opposed’ to coming out of retirement
Even though Tom Brady said last year he is retired “for good,” he isn't completely shutting the door on a possible NFL return.
Brady appeared on an episode of “DeepCut with VicBlends” that was posted on Thursday, and in the episode during which Brady gets a haircut from host VicBlends, the host asked him what would he do if a team called him to play if their quarterback got injured. Blends mentioned a possible team to call would be the San Francisco 49ers, with the New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders also mentioned by the former quarterback.
So would Brady pick up the phone? “I'm not opposed to it,” Brady said. “I don't know if they're gonna let me if I become an owner an NFL team. I don't know, I'm always gonna be in good shape, always be able to throw the ball.”
The seven-time Super Bowl champion compared a possible return to what Michael Jordan did with the Washington Wizards in 2001.
“To come in for a little bit, like MJ coming back, I don't know if they would let me. But I wouldn't be opposed to it,” he said.
That scenario has already happened before. Before the 2023 NFL season, with the 49ers uncertain if Brock Purdy would be healthy to start the year or if Trey Lance was their starting quarterback, there were rumors San Francisco considered reaching out to Brady about coming out of retirement. Before Super Bowl 58, head coach Kyle Shanahan admitted it was something the team actually considered after evaluating and speaking to Purdy about his injury.
“Yes, I was serious about it,” Shanahan told NBC. “As we talked, I'm looking at Brock, and he's got his arm in a sling, and I really am not sure I've got a quarterback who's going to be ready for the start of the 2023 season. That started all of this.”
Shanahan added he told Purdy the only way he wouldn't start for the team while healthy would be because Brady was under center.
Regardless, Brady will still be around the game for the 2024 season. Before he retired, Brady signed a 10-year deal with Fox Sports to become the network's lead analyst alongside play-byplay commentator Kevin Burkhardt, and he will begin his duties this upcoming season. Brady is also in the process of joining the Raiders' ownership group.