‘Never say never’: Tom Brady says an NFL comeback is possible
Seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady said he could return to the NFL, despite his announcement last week that he was retiring after a glittering 22-year career.
Speaking on the Let’s Go! podcast on Monday, the 44-year-old Brady said he was happy with his decision to step away from the league but could reconsider it six months from now.
“I’m just gonna take things as they come. I think that’s the best way to put it and I don’t think anything, you know, you never say never,” said Brady, who played most of his career for the New England Patriots.
“I try to make the best possible deci- sion I can in the moment, which I did this last week. And, again, I think it’s not looking to reverse course, I’m definitely not looking to do that. But in the same time I think you have to be realistic that you never know what challenges there are gonna be in life.”
Brady, the reigning Super Bowl MVP after winning a championship with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season, added that the decision to retire was heavily influenced by factors outside of sport, rather than injuries or age. He has three children and his wife, the model and businesswoman Gisele Bundchen, has often had to put her own professional life on hold to support Brady’s NFL career.
“I think the choice is, everything certainly comes at a cost, and the cost is what am I missing out on other aspects of my life?” he said. “And things that are, as you get older, you experience things that are outside of the sport that demand the level of attention and energy that football has always gotten. And it’s time for me to commit to those types of things.”
Other high-profile players have retired before returning to the game. Brady’s teammate in New England and Tampa, Rob Gronkowski, announced his retirement in 2019 but returned in 2020 to win a Super Bowl alongside Brady with the Buccaneers.